West Ham last won the competition in 1980 under the management of John Lyall, and Santo is hoping to follow in his footsteps.
Last season Santo guided Nottingham Forest to the semi-final of the cup and described the world’s oldest cup competition as ‘beautiful’.
Speaking at his weekly pre-match press conference, Santo said: "It's a beautiful competition. We're going to compete; we're going to try and go through."
"The cup is always a good chance to give minutes to players who don't get many, for them to improve - we will need them further ahead."
He was also encouraged by the team’s latest performance’s despite the fact they dropped points in injury against Manchester Utd last on Tuesday.
On giving up a lead against Man Utd: "It was a tough one to take. But we performed really well against a very good team."
"What happened ignited the atmosphere at the London Stadium, our home, we can feel it. The place gives and the fans give back in a huge way for us."
On Adama Traore: "He has a lot of things to improve, having been out of competition for a while, but he's putting all that he can into training sessions. We need him to get back to his best."
With the exceptions of Pablo and Jean-Clair Todibo - who is suspended - all players are available for the cup tie.