West Ham United welcome Carabao Cup holders Manchester City to east London for a sold-out fourth-round tie on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers play at London Stadium for the third time in eight days and are seeking to complete a hat-trick of victories in three different competitions, having defeated KRC Genk 3-0 in UEFA Europa League Group H and Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the Premier League.
However, West Ham's task will be a difficult one against a Manchester City who have won this competition in each of the previous four seasons. In fact, Pep Guardiola's side were last eliminated from the EFL Cup on 26 October 2016, when they were beaten 1-0 in a fourth-round tie at Manchester United.
That said, David Moyes and his players are also full of confidence after recording three victories in the space of eight days last week, winning 1-0 at Everton in the Premier League before recording the aforementioned victories over Genk and Spurs.
Kick-off at London Stadium is at 7.45pm and we will be roared on by a Club record EFL Cup attendance, with all tickets for the game sold. That would smash the previous record of 50,270 present for the fourth-round visit of Tottenham on 31 October 2018.
Ticket News
All 60,000 tickets for Wednesday's tie have been sold, with the Club's Kids for a Quid promotion encouraging families to make the most of the half-term holiday with a trip to London Stadium.
We are delighted that supporters have been able to return in full to London Stadium this season. However, we must continue to follow the protocols that are in place to minimise the risks of COVID-19, and remind everyone attending that we all have a collective responsibility to keep one another safe.
Matchday spot-checks have been increased for forthcoming games with fans asked to show their COVID status prior to entering the stadium. Please ensure you read our COVID Status and Guidance information so that you’re prepared before you arrive.
Supporters aged 18 or over should attend the match only if they either have a valid NHS COVID Pass, can show valid alternative proof that they have been fully vaccinated, or have registered a negative COVID test in the previous 48 hours.
There will be heightened visibility of spot-checkers from the Manchester City fixture, with all checkers outside the stadium wearing clearly-marked uniforms.
If you are coming to the game, please familiarise yourself with the following matchday information to help you enjoy a safe and comfortable evening:
A DJ will be performing at the Heineken Bar from 5.15pm-7.15pm, between Turnstiles J and H. Supporters will also be able to enjoy a pre-match light show from 7.30pm.
If you missed out on Wednesday's tie, don't despair. Tickets are on General Sale for our home games with Liverpool and Dinamo Zagreb, while Claret Members can secure seats for the Premier League visit of Brighton & Hove Albion. Click here to buy your tickets now!
How to follow the game
Wednesday's tie will not be televised in the UK, but will be broadcast live in dozens of countries across the world. Overseas fans should click here to find out where to catch the match.
We will be covering the game live with a blog and audio commentary on whufc.com and our Official App and across our social media channels, with exclusive reaction to follow after the final whistle.
We will have highlights for you on whufc.com from 1am on Thursday 28 October.
Team news
David Moyes is set to make changes to his starting XI from Sunday's Premier League win over Tottenham.
Alphonse Areola, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop, Mark Noble, Manuel Lanzini, Arthur Masuaku, Andriy Yarmolenko and Nikola Vlašić could all feature, while Vladimír Coufal, Alex Král and Ryan Fredericks are all getting closer to a return to action.
Diop will make his 100th appearance for the Club, should he be involved.
It remains to be seen if any Academy prospects are included, but Harrison Ashby, Jamal Baptiste, Aji Alese and Dan Chesters have all featured in previous matchday squads this season.
Pep Guardiola is also set to make changes from Manchester City's 4-1 Premier League victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The Spaniard fielded a host of Academy players in his side's 6-1 win over Wycombe Wanderers in the third round, but you would expect him to name a more experienced side against Premier League opposition.
Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, John Stones, Nathan Aké and Fernandinho were all substitutes at Brighton.
Carabao Cup rules
Following a change to the rules for the Carabao Cup, each club can name nine substitutes for our fourth-round tie with Manchester City, of which five can be used.
Clubs have three occasions during open play to make substitutions (excluding half-time), and multiple substitutions can be made during each occasion.
Each Club shall also be permitted to utilise up to two ‘concussion substitutes’ and/or two ‘additional substitutes’ (as appropriate) from those substitutes listed on the team sheet.
If the scores are level after 90 minutes, then the match will immediately be decided on penalties. No extra-time will be played.
VAR is not in operation.
The Opposition
The headline-grabbing takeover of Newcastle United led by the Saudi-based Public Investment Fund indirectly cast a spotlight on Manchester City, whose own high-profile change of ownership to the Abu Dhabi United Group was completed just over 13 years ago.
Comparisons have been drawn between the two clubs and their relatively similar stature, size and position in the Engilsh game before being taken over by billionaire owners from the Middle East.
Further, Manchester City have been held up as the model for Newcastle's new owners to follow in areas such as recruitment, infrastructure and international growth.
For in the years since Sheikh Manour took charge at the City of Manchester - now Etihad - Stadium, Manchester City has emerged and developed into one of the world's most-successful and recognisable football clubs.
By investing hundreds of millions of pounds in world-class players and managers, developing the Academy and Women's sections, brand marketing and partner clubs all over the world, the club has become synonymous with excellence, on and off the pitch.
Two decades ago, Manchester City were firmly in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United, who were dominating the English game and enjoying regular success in European competition.
While Sir Alex Ferguson was spending 27 seasons at Old Trafford, building a squad and a club that was the envy of almost all others and collecting trophy after trophy, Manchester City were playing at an outdated Maine Road, hiring and firing managers and, as recently as 1997, even dropping into the third tier of English football.
For a club with such an illustrious history - twice champions of England - and with such a large fanbase - average crowds remained over 28,000 in the third tier - it was an unacceptable situation.
Things began to turn around, Manchester City battled their way back to the Premier League in 2000 and again in 2002 following one season in the second tier and, after moving into a new stadium built for the Commonweath Games in 2003, attracted a takeover from former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra three-and-a-half years later.
Within a year, however, the club was back in turmoil, as Shinawatra's assets were frozen by Thai authorities and the funds which had been used to appoint Sven-Göran Eriksson as manager and strengthen the squad dried up.
As a result, on 1 September 2008, Shinawatra sold the club to Abu Dhabi United Group.
Since that takeover, Manchester City have excelled, winning five Premier League titles and a host of other domestic trophies, including the EFL Cup in each of the previous four seasons.
While the club's owners still crave UEFA Champions League glory, under Pep Guardiola they have gone agonisingly close, losing to Chelsea in last season's final.
While that trophy continues to elude Manchester City, tonight's visitors remain a club whose example many others - not just Newcastle - could do well to follow.
Previous meetings
West Ham United have been drawn to face Manchester City for just the third time in the competition's 62-year history.
The Citizens have prevailed on each of the previous two occasions.
The first was in the third round in the 1984/85 season. The teams battled to a goalless draw at Maine Road before City triumphed 2-1 in a replay at the Boleyn Ground, with Steve Whitton on target for John Lyall's side.
The second was the forgettable semi-final of 2013/14, when Sam Allardyce's Hammers were thrashed 9-0 on aggregate by Manuel Pellegrini's City, who would go on to beat Sunderland 3-1 in the final.
Official Programme
West Ham United is celebrating Black History Month 2021 in Wednesday’s Official Programme. Click here to order your copy now!
October is Black History Month in the UK, an event that has been celebrated nationwide since 1987.
Originally founded to recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to the UK over many generations, Black History Month has expanded to include the history of not just African and Caribbean people but black people in general.
Wednesday's cover and tear-out A3 poster, which both celebrate Black History Month, were both created by illustrator and long-time West Ham United fan Steve Kreeger.
Inside, you can read Michail Antonio’s story in his own words, from his Caribbean upbringing in south London to overcoming every challenge put in his way to rise from non-league to Premier League footballer.
Hammers hero Carlton Cole hosts a discussion with former West Ham full-back George Parris and current first-teamer Ben Johnson about Black History Month, the need for black youngsters to have recognisable idols and role models, and the ongoing fight against racism and discrimination in the game and society as a whole.
We hear the story of the late player and West Ham boot room manager Jack Leslie, who was picked but then discarded by England because of the colour of his skin in 1925, denying him the opportunity to become England’s first black international, and the campaign to have his legacy rightfully celebrated.
Former England winger Trevor Sinclair looks back on four-and-a-half years in Claret and Blue, sharing his standout memories in My West Ham Scrapbook.
Match Officials
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Assistant Referees: Marc Perry & Timothy Wood
Fourth Official: Kelvin Morton
Born in Sunderland in 1970, Jonathan Moss won a football scholarship at Central Connecticut State University in the United States but completed his studies with a degree in teaching and physical education at the University of Leeds.
Moss played Academy football for Sunderland and Millwall before opting to become a physical education teacher, teaching future Liverpool and England star James Milner at Westbrook Lane Primary School in Leeds!
Moss’s refereeing career began in the Northern Counties East League and Northern Premier League before he was promoted to the National Group of assistant referees in 2003.
He became a Football League referee in 2005 and a Premier League referee in 2011, before taking charge of the 2015 FA Cup final at Wembley.
The 51-year-old has refereed West Ham United 31 times in total since a 2-1 Championship defeat at Derby County on New Year’s Eve 2011.
His most recent Hammers appointment was the 1-0 win at Manchester United in the third round of this season's Carabao Cup.