West Ham vs Manchester City - as it happened: Pep Guardiola's men dazzle to run five past West Ham
Re-live all the action from the London Stadium
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Key information…
KICK-OFF: 19:55, Friday 6th January
TV: Live on BBC One
Teams...
West Ham: Adrian, Nordtveit, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Fernandes, Obiang, Feghouli, Lanzini, Antonio, Carroll. Subs: Randolph, Noble, Fletcher, Payet, Calleri, Oxford, Quina.
Manchester City: Caballero, Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy, Toure, Zabaleta, De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling, Aguero. Subs: Nolito, Kolarov, Jesus Navas, Delph, Iheanacho, Garcia, Bravo.
Follow the live action below...
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It’s a big game for…
Andy Carroll. Since coming back from injury, Carroll has scored a couple of goals but has failed to ensure himself of the no.9 starting berth. The former Liverpool striker will be hoping for a start in this tie to prove that he should be on Slaven Bilic’s team sheet every week.
Best stat…
9. The last time these two teams met in a cup tie was the League Cup semi-finals in 2014 where City won by nine goals. A 3-0 win away at Upton Park followed a 6-0 demolition in the first leg at the Etihad.
Remember when…
This is the first meeting between West Ham and City at the Hammers’ new London Stadium. But, the last time West ham were the hosts they were pegged back twice by Sergio Aguero in a 2-2 draw.
Player to watch…
Kelechi Iheanacho. Whenever the Nigerian gets a chance to impress in the starting 11 for City, he usually takes it. With most of his appearances coming from off the bench this term, this may be a good chance for the 19-year-old to prove himself to Guardiola, though it will be hard to dislodge Aguero from the City side.
Past three meetings…
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 2, Fernandinho) West Ham 1 (Antonio), Premier League, August 2016
West Ham 2 (Valencia 2) Manchester City 2 (Aguero 2), Premier League, January 2016
Manchester City 1 (De Bruyne) West Ham 2 (Moses, Sakho), Premier League, September 2015
Form guide…
WEST HAM: DWWWLL
MANCHESTER CITY: LWWWLW
Odds…
WEST HAM TO WIN: 4/1
MAN CITY TO WIN: 4/6
DRAW: 29/10
(Odds provided by Betfair)
Good evening and welcome to the Independent's coverage of tonight's FA Cup clash between West Ham and Manchester City. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates and goals from the London Stadium.
Team news to follow shortly.
As West Ham kindly tweeted for us, three changes to the West Ham side that ran out against Manchester United on Monday. Adrian, Edimilson Fernandes and Andy Carroll are all handed a start tonight while Dimitri Payet and Darren Randolph drop to the bench. Cheikhou Kouyaté is absent from the match-day squad.
And five changes to the Manchester City side that beat Burnley beat 2-1. Willy Caballero, John Stones (remember him?), Pablo Zabaleta, David Silva and Sergio Aguero all start tonight after being left on the bench earlier in the week.
It'd hard not to make mention of Guardiola's terse interview in the wake of his side's 2-1 win over Burnley. His contempt for the media is well known but this was something else and recalled to mind the tantrums of old thrown by Sir Alex Ferguson. At least he's keeping things interesting...
Read on y'all.
On another note, what a breath of fresh air to see two strong sides fielded in the FA Cup. Both Bilic and Pep look to be taking the tournament seriously which makes a change from most Premier League sides.
With the Hammers struggling for form in the league, and Pep under increasing scrutiny, perhaps both managers have realised that a return to basics and the good old days of the FA Cup is what their fans need.
To his credit, Guardiola did insist that his retirement remarks were 'inappropriate'. Speaking ahead of tonight's game, the Catalan struck a far more conciliatory and polite tone as he addressed the media on Thursday. It seems he won't be retiring anytime soon after all...
So what have the managers said for tonight's clash?
"They [City] had a brilliant start to the season and then they slowed down a little bit," Slaven Bilic said.
"This is a big game for us and big game for them, it is the FA Cup and it is big for the fans.
"They will put out a very strong team because it is a big chance for them to get a trophy. Maybe after the great start they made, maybe some fans, pundits or football people expected them to cruise in the league, especially with [Pep] Guardiola, especially after that start.
Slaven Bilic
"But it is never easy in any league, especially here. They are not struggling but, for their standards, to be seven points from the top is probably not what they expected."
And what about Pep?
"I am not going to be training when I am 60 years old. But guys, I am 45! I am not going to retire in two or three years," the Catalan said.
"I love my job and am in the perfect place to do my job, especially here in England... maybe it was inappropriate to say I am starting to say goodbye to my career, but I know what I am thinking about when I am going to retire.
Pep Guardiola
"When I said compare history and titles with United and Liverpool, Barcelona and Madrid, that kind of club, we are behind. If people don't understand that, I am sorry. In terms of just titles, we are behind other clubs in the last 20 years.
"In the last five or six years Manchester City have been the best club. They are the club who have achieved the most. In terms of targets of getting better, of growing, of achieving the most, they are the best in the world, by far."
Right, here we go guys! We're minutes away from kick-off!
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