FA Cup Preview: West Ham United vs AFC Wimbledon

West Ham are on to the fourth round of the FA Cup after their successful victory against Birmingham City last Saturday afternoon. They didn’t always look dominant but when it comes to cup matches, win and move on. They will come up against AFC Wimbledon who won their third round match against League One foe, Fleetwood Town.

In that match, they went up 2 and then let Fleetwood come back within a 2-minute window, and then were saved by Kwesi Appiah in stoppage time. This matchup will also be the second time these two clubs face off this season. West Ham won the previous match 3-1 in the English League Cup.

Previous Matchups

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

As previously stated, the Hammers faced off against The Dons in the League Cup back on August 8th of this season. West Ham came back to win 3-1 after going down in just the second minute. That match was eventually dominated by the Hammers who controlled 81% of the possession with 26 shots and 11 on target to the Dons 2 shots and only 1 on target. Two keynotes from this previous match was an aggressive 720 passes by the Hammers and the booming strike from Issa Diop in the 63rd minute.

These two clubs have previously faced off 27 times with West Ham having a record of 11 wins, 8 draws, and 8 loses. Additionally, these two have faced off just once before in the FA Cup back in 1985 where after a 1-1 draw, West Ham took control in the replay 5-1. That year, West Ham made it all the way to the quarter-final match where they were knocked out eventual champion Manchester United 4-2.

Potential Storylines

In three weeks time, West Ham will face Arsenal and AFC Bournemouth (both previous loses this season) before the fourth round match. Interestingly enough, West Ham have matched up against this combination of teams earlier this season in a three-week span. Another storyline is who will be back to health for the Hammers. By then we should see the likes of Balbuena, Hernandez, and Fredericks, if not more, back in action. It has already been previously stated by Manuel Pellegrini that he and his team will try hard to compete for the cup so expect another strong lineup.

On the other side, West Ham will be facing a side most likely continuing to fight for relegation in a League One side that will have nothing to lose and everything to gain as the underdog. One last thing of interest is how long with Adrian be West Ham’s cup keeper? There is an obvious difference between him and starting keeper Lukasz Fabianski but it will be an interesting side note to see who the gaffer goes to in the fourth round cup tie.

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In the world of football, everything can change in a week or so and when clubs meet up in the FA Cup literally anything can happen. Cup ties are continually chippy and sometimes aggressive matches. With all of that being said, West Ham was a completely different club the last time these two met and I believe that the Hammers will over time wear out the lower league dons and move on to the fifth round. Keep an eye out for continual articles about the FA Cup and potential “what ifs” for future rounds. COME ON YOU IRONS!