FA Cup third round replay
Manchester City v West Ham United
City of Manchester Stadium
Wednesday 16 January
8.05pm
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
WHUTV - Full audio commentary, plus Anton Ferdinand and Mark Noble speak.
Introduction
After a goalless draw at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 5 January - this return FA Cup meeting of two of the Premier League's form clubs this season is sure to be a competitive affair. West Ham United, who sit in tenth place just three places behind their hosts in the top flight, are three-time cup winners in 1964, 1975 and 1980. The club also played in the 1923 and 2006 finals - the latter being the most memorable in recent history after a 3-3 draw culminated in a 3-1 win by Liverpool on penalties. City lifted the trophy in 1904, 1934, 1956 and 1969, while they lost out on four occasions in 1926, 1933, 1955 and 1981.
The winners of this tie, which has to be settled on the night, will go forward to play at Sheffield United in the fourth round. The match is set for a 4pm kick-off on Sunday 27 January - seven days after West Ham United travel to City again - this time for the league return.
Team news
Alan Curbishley is expecting captain Lucas Neill to be fit after a hamstring injury caused him to miss out on Saturday's 2-1 win home success against Fulham - although Jonathan Spector did well in his absence at right-back. James Collins is also eager to play after twice being an unused substitute. Craig Bellamy and Bobby Zamora are both back in training but it is thought the match will be too soon for them, as it will be for Nolberto Solano who is perhaps a week away.
Julien Faubert will hope to again figure, at least on the bench, after his debut as a late substitute last weekend. Lee Bowyer and Luis Boa Morte also appeared in the second half and could put pressure on Freddie Ljungberg, who particularly excelled against Fulham, and Matthew Etherington. Jonn Pantsil and Henri Camara are both away at the African Cup of Nations, which gets under way this Sunday.
Manchester City have playmaker Elano fit again after he missed the first match because of sickness. The Brazilian played in the 1-0 weekend defeat at Everton, although midfielder Michael Johnson is still out with an abdominal problem. Striker Emile Mpenza has been ordered to sit out training for a week to shake off a hamstring problem. Valeri Bojinov, who played in City's 2-0 win at the Boleyn Ground on the first day of the season, is still out with a long-term knee problem.
Background
Having memorably won 2-1 at City in the FA Cup en route to the 2005/06 final, West Ham United will hope for similar this time around. Only Danny Gabbidon, James Collins, Hayden Mullins, Matthew Etherington, Dean Ashton and Bobby Zamora of the current squad featured in that quarter-final on 20 March 2006, with Ashton scoring both goals in the 41st and 69th minutes. For City, current players Micah Richards, Richard Dunne, Sun Jihai, Stephen Ireland, Darius Vassell all featured - with former midfielder Kiki Musampa scoring their consolation.
The only other FA Cup meeting between the clubs came in the 1997/98 fourth round, when goals from Eyal Berkovic (28) and Steve Lomas (76) cancelled out Georgi Kinkladze's 59th-minute opener.
The 2007/08 league season started with City's trip to the Boleyn Ground and was the first game in charge for new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Rolando Bianchi (18) and Geovanni (87) scored both goals. That was followed by the cup encounter ten days ago when neither side could break the deadlock in a contest that saw Robert Green and Joe Hart excel.
The lineups were:
West Ham United: Green, Neill (Spector 46), Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Pantsil, Noble, Mullins (Bowyer 75), Etherington (Reid 69), Ashton, Cole
Subs not used: Wright, Collins
Manchester City: Hart, Onuoha, Dunne, Richards, Ball, Ireland (Etuhu 66), Corluka, Hamann, Petrov, Castillo (Gelson 72), Vassell (Bianchi 79)
Subs not used: Schmeichel, Garrido
Curbishley's current side are in fine league form, with six wins and four draws from the last 13 fixtures. The only three reverses came against strong opposition in the form of Chelsea, Everton and Arsenal.
The Hammers have still not lost in all nine league games this season when they have taken the lead while three of the last five league games have seen the side come from behind to win 2-1. George McCartney, who is on four cautions, is bidding to make his 27th appearance this season in all competitions - and is the only West Ham United player who has featured in every game to date, starting in each one. In terms of the Premier League, only Robert Green - who celebrates his 28th birthday on Friday - and Upson have played every minute of the 21 matches. Ashton, with six goals, five in the league, is the club's leading scorer.
For City, only Martin Petrov has started every top-flight game this season, although Vedran Corluka has appeared in each fixture. Elano with six goals, five in the league, is the club's top scorer. The 2-0 win on the opening day was one of only two away wins in the league this season. Prior to the Everton reverse, City had not lost in the previous five league games - three of which had been drawn - since 9 December.
It is at the CIty of Manchester Stadium, where City are particularly impressive. They have won nine and drawn two of their eleven league games there this season and conceded just seven goals. Only Manchester United and Arsenal have a better record. City did lose 2-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, however, in the Carling Cup quarter-finals on 18 December.
Head to head (last six meetings, league unless stated)
5 January 2008 - West Ham United 0-0 Manchester City (FA Cup)
11 August 2007 - West Ham United 0-2 Manchester City
30 December 2006 - West Ham United 0-1 Manchester City
23 September 2006 - Manchester City 2-0 West Ham United
15 April 2006 - West Ham United 1-0 Manchester City
20 March 2006 - Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United (FA Cup)
Overall record v Manchester City (all competitions): W 34, D 13, L 37
Third-round replay fixtures
Wednesday 16 January (all 7.45pm)
Havant and Waterlooville v Swansea City
Hereford United v Tranmere Rovers
Newcastle United v Stoke City
Key FA Cup dates
Fourth round: 26/27 January
Fifth round: 16/17 February
Sixth round: 8/9 March
Semi-finals: 5 April
Final: 17 May (Wembley)
General information
For ticket information, click here. For details of getting to the City of Manchester Stadium, click here
Weather: The forecast is for rain and a chilly evening in Manchester. The temperature is set to peak at around 5C.