West Ham United have been paired with Everton in the Carling Cup quarter-finals as the club targets a return to Wembley.
The tie is set to be played the week commencing 10 December, with the semi-finals following over two legs on 8/9 and 22/23 January. The final will be played at Wembley Stadium on 24 February. The club are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since the 1989/90 campaign when they were denied a final place after a 6-3 aggregate defeat by Oldham Athletic.
The clubs, who are also due to meet at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 15 December, last met in this competition in the 1983/84 League Cup fourth round. Everton earned a 2-2 draw at the Boleyn Ground before eliminating John Lyall's team with a 2-0 home win after extra time. The most recent pairing in knockout competition was the memorable 2-1 home victory in the 1990/91 FA Cup quarter-finals, when goals from Stuart Slater and Colin Foster took the Hammers through to the last four.
Everton, who are also involved in the UEFA Cup, reached this stage with a 1-0 victory at Luton Town after extra time. Previously they won 3-0 at Sheffield Wednesday having been given a bye in the second round because of European commitments.
Speaking in his weekly Captain's Blog, Lucas Neill said the club were determined to do as well as possible after overcoming Bristol Rovers (2-1), Plymouth Argyle (1-0) and Coventry City (2-1) to get to this point. "Last-minute goals against Plymouth and Coventry show just how much hunger we have to progress in this competition," he wrote. "There is no team now left in the competition that would scare anyone and on their day any team can win so why not let it be us that gets into that last four?"
West Ham United have never won the League Cup but twice finished as runners-up. The last final appearance was the 2-1 replay defeat by Liverpool at Villa Park in 1980/81 having drawn the first match 1-1 at Wembley. In the two-legged 1965/66 final, the club lost 5-3 on aggregate to West Bromwich Albion. The last time the club reached the quarter-finals was the 1999/00 season when losing 3-1 to Aston Villa after the original tie, won 5-4 by the Hammers on penalties after a 2-2 draw, had to be replayed because of an ineligible player.
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Carling Cup fifth-round draw
West Ham United v Everton
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea v Liverpool
Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal