Southampton travel away to play Tottenham in the FA Cup on Wednesday as they look to book their place in the fifth round.
The winners will host fellow Premier League side Norwich at home in the next round, a game which is set to take place in the first week of March.
Spurs and Southampton held each other to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, with Sofiane Boufal’s late equaliser cancelling out Heung-Min Son’s opening goal.
Kevin Danso started at right-back that day, but found himself on the bench as James Ward-Prowse took up that position against Liverpool over the weekend. With Kyle Walker-Peters ineligible to make his debut against his parent club, who should get the nod at right-back on Wednesday?
In Danso’s one Premier League start at right-back, he recorded a WhoScored rating of 5.69 before being hauled off after 46 minutes against Bournemouth.
Ward-Prowse, meanwhile, registered an impressive rating of 6.9 at right-back against Liverpool – despite the club’s 4-0 loss. That is also a higher rating than Danso has managed in any position this season, having also played at left-back and centre-back at times.
This suggests that Hasenhuttl should opt to play Ward-Prowse at right-back ahead of Danso, despite him being a central midfielder. Ward-Prowse has played 25 Premier League matches this season, with only one coming in defence – against the Reds at the weekend.
However, his performance against the league-leaders showed promise in that position and playing him there against Tottenham could prove key if he is able to replicate a similar display and offer more to the team than Danso has been able to.
Ward-Prowse would also be able to offer an attacking outlet on the right. He is an excellent crosser of the ball and being on the right flank could afford him more space to deliver into the box to create chances for his teammates.
This could improve Southampton’s chances of winning the game, as it could increase the number of opportunities they create in front of goal – if Ward-Prowse is able to produce quality crosses.
