West Ham United v Bristol City
Emirates FA Cup third round, London Stadium, Sunday 7 January 2024, 2pm GMT
West Ham United get their Emirates FA Cup campaign underway on Sunday afternoon when they welcome EFL Championship side Bristol City to east London.
The Irons will take on the Robins for the first time since a fourth-round tie in the same competition nine years ago.
On that occasion, Diafra Sakho notched the only goal of the game to settle a tight contest at Ashton Gate, and both teams head into this meeting in good form - West Ham unbeaten in four without conceding a goal, while City have tasted defeat just once in their past five games.
Tickets...
Sunday's game is nearing a sell-out, so hurry to secure your seats for the clash with the Robins.
Adult tickets start from just £10, while Junior tickets are available from £1, so you can make it a day out for all the family.
Head to eticketing.co.uk/whufc now to buy your tickets!
Travel...
Supporters heading to Sunday's fixture should take note of a number of travel alterations. Although there is no scheduled engineering work on the London Underground Central and Jubilee lines through Stratford, a planned strike will start to affect services come the evening. Travellers are advised to complete their journeys on the Underground by 5.30pm.
The Elizabeth Line is due to run as normal, but one of the two Docklands Light Railway routes that serve Stratford will be closed - with no service between Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal, supporters who usually travel this way can make use of Elizabeth and Jubilee Line services instead.
Trains will run on London Overground between Stratford and Willesden Junction, via Camden Road and Queens Park, but a closure will impact the line further west, with no service between Richmond and Gospel Oak.
Moving on to National Rail, and supporters travelling from Norfolk, Suffolk and north Essex on Greater Anglia services will need to take replacement buses between Witham and Ingatestone. Trains will run from Chelmsford to London through Ingatestone, Shenfield and Stratford as normal.
c2c services will be unable to stop at West Ham after 6.30pm on Sunday due to the strike action on the Underground.
Finally, there is no scheduled disruption for Southeastern High Speed services through Stratford International.
Please use tfl.gov.uk and nationalrail.co.uk to plan your journey.
How to Follow...
This match will not be broadcast live on television in the UK. However, if you live overseas, it might be shown in your territory by one of the FA Cup's international broadcast partners. A full list of where you can watch the game is available by clicking here.
We will cover the game comprehensively on our official channels, with a live blog on whufc.com and our app, with in-game stats, imagery and more. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on BBC London and worldwide on our official website and app.
Official Programme...
The Official Programme for Sunday's tie is available online here
Our second issue of 2024 is led by an in-depth interview with young goalkeeper Joseph Anang, features with Łukasz Fabiański and Ollie Scarles and interviews with former West Ham and Bristol City favourite Nicky Maynard and new Women's team signing Shelina Zadorsky.
We also have Ian 'Moose' Abrahams' interview with Bristol City head coach and former Hammers Academy coach Liam Manning, Ken Dyer's chat with two visually-impaired supporters, Matt and Wendy, for whom Sunday's tie will be a special occasion, along with historic features galore.
With interviews with goalkeeper coach Xavi Valero on the Club's young stoppers, the latest from our women's team and award-winning Foundation, plus history, puzzles, statistics and the lowdown on our opponents from Ashton Gate, the Official Programme is packed full of content for you!
Team News...
West Ham will hope to have Vladimír Coufal available again after the Czech international right-back missed Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion due to illness.
Kurt Zouma and Lucas Paquetá were also absent for that match with knee and calf issues respectively, and the Hammers will assess their fitness ahead of the visit of the Robins.
Nayef Aguerd and Mohammed Kudus are on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco and Ghana respectively, so will not be available for selection.
Bristol City, meanwhile, will be without midfielder Mark Sykes on Sunday after manager Liam Manning confirmed the 26-year-old had suffered a minor injury.
New signing Adam Murphy could be in line for his first Robins appearance at London Stadium.
Opposition...
As the largest city in South-West England and the eleventh most populous urban area in England, Bristol would be a fitting home for a top-flight football club.
However, it is now 67 years since the football supporters of Bristol, or indeed any English Football League club situated west of Bournemouth, had such a club to cheer on.
Bristol City have spent just nine of their 130 years in existence in the top tier, and none since they were relegated from the First Division at the end of the 1979/80 season. Their local rivals Bristol Rovers have never reached the top division either, nor have Devon clubs Exeter City or Plymouth Argyle.
The Robins got within 90 minutes of reaching the Premier League in 2008, when a wondergoal from Hull City’s Dean Windass denied them in the Championship Play-Off final.
Since then, promotion challenges have been rare, with an eighth-place finish in 2018/19 as close as today’s visitors have got to joining the elite. Indeed, Bristol City even spent two seasons in League One between 2013-15.
Since being formed in 1894 as Bristol South End, the club has produced just four senior men’s England internationals, and none since legendary striker John Atyeo won six caps between 1955-57.
For football’s sake, you hope that one day Bristol City will take their place in the Premier League as, despite having only a succession of mid-table finishes to enjoy in recent seasons, the visitors’ average attendances have grown to over 20,000 at their smart, 27,000-capacity Ashton Gate stadium located in the south-west of the city.
The FA Cup has not exactly provided much solace for the Robins’ fans down the years, either. It is 40 years since Bristol City last reached the quarter-finals, in 1973/74, some 104 years since their last semi-final, and 115 years since they experienced their one and only final, which ended in a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United.
While reaching another FA Cup final may be a tall order, Bristol City do have real hope of mounting a fresh challenge for promotion to the Premier League under a head coach who many West Ham United supporters will recognise.
Liam Manning was very highly thought of during his four seasons as West Ham’s U23 coach and assistant Academy director between 2015-19.
Since departing east London, Manning has developed his reputation, first at New York City FC, and subsequently as head coach of Belgians SK Lommel and EFL League One clubs MK Dons and Oxford United.
Manning departed Oxford with the U’s second in the League One table to take charge at Ashton Gate in early November 2023 and, after a slow start, brings his Bristol City team to London Stadium on a run of just one defeat in five.
The 9,000 visiting supporters will not want to get carried away, but perhaps their long wait to return to the top-flight may soon be over.
Previous Meetings...
The Hammers and Bristol City have met on 31 previous occasions across Football League, FA Cup and League Cup action, with the Irons winning 17 of those matches and losing just four - the last of which in 1978.
Focusing on the two previous FA Cup meetings. As mentioned earlier, Sam Allardyce's West Ham defeated then-League One Bristol City 1-0 in a fourth round tie in the West Country in January 2015.
Our only other head-to-head in this competition came back in January 1969, when two of the Club's 1966 World Cup heroes combined to see off the Robins' threat.
Martin Peters scored twice, with Geoff Hurst notching the other as the Irons ran out 3-2 winners in a third round tie.
Match Info...
If the scores are level after 90 minutes on Sunday, then there will be no extra-time and a replay will be held at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate stadium on Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 7.45pm, subject to broadcast selections.
Each manager can name up to nine substitutes, up to five of whom can be used withthree opportunities permitted (excluding half-time). Clubs are also permitted to use up to two ‘concussion substitutes’, which are in addition to the five substitutes ordinarily permitted and the three opportunities.
Both VAR and Goal Line Technology will be in operation for the tie.
Match Officials...
Referee: Graham Scott
Assistant Referees: Timothy Wood & Craig Taylor
Fourth Official: Robert Madley
VAR: Thomas Bramall
Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett
Support VAR: David Coote
Graham Scott will take charge of Sunday's tie.
The 54-year-old from Oxford has been part of the Select Group of Referees since 2015, having taken up refereeing in the lower leagues in 1997 after his time playing football came to an early end due to a back injury at the age of 27.
Scott most recently officiated the Hammers’ 2-0 Premier League win over Sheffield United at London Stadium at the end of September.
He also took charge of the first game of David Moyes’ second spell in charge of the Irons on New Year’s Day 2020, which ended in a 4-0 Premier League victory over AFC Bournemouth at London Stadium.
In all, Scott has refereed 14 West Ham fixtures, but Sunday's game will be the first time he has controlled an Irons’ FA Cup tie.
Coincidentally, Scott has also refereed Bristol City on 14 previous occasions, including the Robins’ 2-1 FA Cup third-round replay win at Swansea City last season.
You will also note that David Coote has been appointed as Support VAR for this FA Cup clash. Support VAR is a role utilised for a number of UEFA, FIFA and other international fixtures and whose duties will include assisting the VAR and AVAR with evaluating incidents and assisting with the communication between the officials.
