Bournemouth and Southampton renew rivalry as Saints travel across the south coast for quarter-final clash

A rivalry has been growing on the pitch between Bournemouth and Southampton in the last few years, but there is still a long way to go to even compare this encounter to the real South Coast Derby, played between Southampton and Portsmouth.

When the draw for the quarter final of this season’s FA Cup was made, it brought together south coast neighbours Bournemouth and Southampton in their first meeting since the Cherries were relegated from the Premier League last season.

Just 31 miles separate the two clubs geographically which brings an extra edge onto the meetings between the two sides and this will be no different when they meet in the last eight of the FA Cup tomorrow.

The two teams have met ten times in the last six years with there being some really competitive clashes; it’s Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side who held the edge in the results during the Cherries’ time in the Premier League.

The Saints won four of the ten clashes with Bournemouth, who claimed two scalps during their five-year spell in the top tier, including their first Premier League home game against the Hampshire club.

However, the one thing which makes this game to be all the more important is because there is still a bit of a sour taste in the Bournemouth camp, losing 2-0 to Hasenhüttl’s team in the penultimate league game of last season.

Everyone knows that Southampton’s main derby comes against Portsmouth, but the battles which they have faced against the Cherries in recent times underlines that there is a little bit of a healthy rivalry growing and that will all be renewed tomorrow lunchtime.

There are going to be huge battles all over the pitch but one which is going to pivotal in the outcome is the in-form Arnaut Danjuma coming up against Saints’ full back Kyle Walker-Peters with both players having fine seasons for their respective clubs.

The Dutch winger has hit double figures for league goals this term despite missing a large proportion of the season due to injury but is now back to his best. The 24-year-old has two goals and two assists in his last couple of matches and will be looking to cause Southampton all sorts of problems.

However, Walker-Peters is having the best season of his career to date and has really looked at home in the red and white this term, putting in several key performances throughout the campaign.

To underline just how important the Englishman is, the Saints leaked goals for fun when he was out recently, conceding 26 goals in the eight league games which he missed since helping the Saints beat Arsenal in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

He has featured three times in the Premier League amongst his injury issues, against Wolves, Sheffield United and Brighton. But, on the whole, he has missed a large amount of football in recent months and so will be desperate to keep Danjuma quiet this weekend and make a real impact for his side.

Both teams have been on poor runs of form on the whole since the turn of the year, although the Cherries are starting to get back on track, collecting ten points from their last five league outings, including a vital 3-0 midweek win over Swansea City.

Cherries’ defender Steve Cook spoke following the win against the Swans in his post-match press conference about just how big a game it is for the club this weekend.

“We have a real good opportunity to go to a place the club has never gone before and I am extremely excited for Saturday afternoon.

“This opportunity doesn’t come around a lot for players, so it’s something we’ve got to really embrace and enjoy, it’s such a shame there’s no fans to enjoy the opportunities of what could lie ahead but it’s all about trying to get used to no fans and push yourselves forward now.

“Southampton have been on a real difficult run of late but I think they’re such a good team, they work extremely hard, they’ve got very good players across the pitch, so we’ve got to show them a lot of respect and match their hard work.

“It would be a huge upset if we were able to beat Southampton at the weekend, we’re just going to enjoy the occasion and hopefully whoever plays in that team on Saturday can do the club proud, it’s a huge opportunity for us, it would be amazing for the club.”

The Saints have pinned a lot on the FA Cup this season after a stuttering run of league form and after collecting wins over Shrewsbury Town, Arsenal and Wolves, they have got themselves within one win of a third Wembley outing in five years.

Both sides know that whoever progresses to the last four is likely to be up against it with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all still involved but, in a one-off game, you never know.

The Cherries have never made it past the quarter final stage of the FA Cup previously so it’s a massive incentive for Jonathan Woodgate’s side to be the first group of players at the club to make it to the last four of England’s oldest cup competition.

It is a massive opportunity for both sides to progress and give themselves a much needed boost ahead of a two week absence because of the international break.

It’s all set to be a vital clash on the south coast tomorrow lunchtime as Bournemouth and Southampton renew a rivalry which has been growing on the pitch in the past five or six years.

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