So, while West Ham United will be the favourites to take all three points on home soil, this would not be the first time Southampton have upset the odds.

Stopping West Ham United’s Dino Mavropanos is a big part of Southampton’s gameplan

Still, experts and pundits are predicting another West Ham win, the set-piece battle expected to play a major part. Konstantinos Mavropanos is the top-scoring centre-back in Europe’s major leagues with five already. Nuno also has Tomas Soucek available and scoring again, scoring a brace off the bench at Lincoln City.

Of course, Southampton could do themselves a favour by avoiding two red cards inside the opening half-hour.

“Well, let’s hope that we don’t have to defend them with nine men! I think that’s hard for any team, not just for Lincoln!,” Eckert quipped, speaking to the Daily Echo. “I think the Wrexham game [another 6-0 win] was a particular one, it shows that they have quality going forward and that’s why we need to be very good in open play.

“We need to be good when we have spells on the ball and I think that they’re going to be more than enough if we show up brave on the day.”

Eckert admits that the challenge could differ depending on the line-up Nuno selects. The West Ham boss started with Pablo up top at Swansea, with Mohamadou Kante in behind. He has the option of starting two centre-forwards in the shape of Joel Piroe and Taty Castellanos, while Soucek could come in after he began on the bench last weekend.

Whatever team Nuno picks, though, Eckert knows that the dead ball battle could be the deciding factor.

“I think that they are slightly different based on who they play up top, and if they play with two strikers up top or one and another one that drops down,” adds the German. “So we have prepared for both scenarios and the way that they set up.

“And then I think a big part of it comes down to set-pieces. If we manage to control that, I think that we have a good chance of playing a good game.”

West Ham thrashed Saints in the Carabao Cup but with a very different XI

Top-scorer Cyle Larin and ex-Hammer Flynn Downes are injury doubts, though Eckert refused to rule out both players being passed fit to feature. He also feels that the 4-1 Carabao Cup defeat by West Ham in August offers relatively little insight, given that both teams altered up their line-ups that day.

James Ward-Prowse will likely start against his former club, while the excellent Caspar Jander could potentially replace Downes in midfield following an injury absence of his own.

“We do take some bits from [the cup game]. I think that actually against West Ham in the cup, obviously there’s a couple of different players on the pitch on both sides,” Eckert said, Josh Ajala scoring a brace that day.

“Structure-wise, I think there’s quite a lot that West Ham are very consistent in, the way they do things, especially against the ball. I think that we had some good spells in the game and then what the game shows you, and I think that’s been a common theme with West Ham this season, is that they make their way into games on a set-piece.

“That’s not just been against us in the cup. It’s been the same in many, many other games and I think that’s going to be very important for us that we have our moments in open play and make sure that we become a threat on the set-pieces that we have, and make sure that we are solid down the other [end].

“I think until then, we actually played a very good game and that opened up a way for West Ham to find a way back into the game. There were some things in the second half that I didn’t like, but that I also think a cup game sometimes brings, as much as you don’t want that to happen, but in reality it does sometimes.”