Kidderminster vs West Ham Predictions: Goals, cards and corners on the menu

Kidderminster Harriers are the lowest ranked team remaining in the FA Cup and the draw has handed them the stern test of West Ham United. Kidderminster are vying for promotion from the National League North and their cup run has been nothing short of a fairy tale. They overcame Reading in the previous round and will be determined to enjoy the occasion against a team that is playing European football this season, and aiming to be playing it again next season.

Kidderminster should have a clean bill of health for the game and what we eleven they name will be more than up for the occasion. West Ham are expected to name a fairly strong starting eleven, with their players fresh off the Premier Leagues winter break. The lavish trips abroad for the Hammers’ stars will be a far cry from the gruelling schedule that the Kidderminster players have endured, with the home side having beaten Leamington 3-0 on Tuesday. 

Ogbonna and Fabianski are unlikely to be available for West Ham, but they have plenty of players who can slot in and do the job.

There is very limited data to go off in terms of Kidderminster here, with the non-league outfit having done very well to make it this far, but we do know that West Ham should dominate the game from start to finish. 

The West Ham team features a number of direct runners, and this should help our cause here as Kidderminster will be forced to stick a foot in here. WhoScored are predicting that Bowen, Benrahma and Yarmolenko will all start, and they will no doubt cause the home side a whole host of problems.

West Ham opponents average just under 15 tackles per game over the last 10 matches, and the level of opposition is certainly a bit lower here. The Hammers are the visitors for this FA Cup clash and in their last 5 away matches, West Ham opponents average 16.2 tackles per game and this bodes well for Saturday’s early kickoff.

Kidderminster’s last FA Cup tie was a feisty affair against Reading. The Harriers picked up 1 yellow card while their opponents picked up 4. West Ham’s cup games have been a cleaner in terms of cards, but a hostile home crowd can hopefully the fuel the occasions here.

The corners should land very comfortably. West Ham’s last 10 matches average over 9 corners,  while their opponents average over 6. West Ham also average over 8 corners per game by themselves in their last 5 matches where they’ve been similarly priced, but these fate back several years because of the gulf in class and the infrequency at which these two types of teams meet in competition.

The gulf in class should also be a key factor in terms of goals. West Ham’s last 10 matches average exactly 2.5 goals per game, but they’ll be confident of carving open the opposition on several occasions here.