On Sky
A sixth Wembley appearance inside three years is within touching distance for Manchester City. Episode Two of the Capital One League Cup Semi-Final with West Ham follows…
Vital Quotes:
Manuel Pellegrini:
‘We are in a good moment. The confidence of the team is high…I think we are getting better. At the beginning of the season it wasn’t easy to change so many things. The way we are playing, with more matches, is better.’
Sam Allardyce:
‘It is about playing a game at home and trying to win it. It’s highly unlikely we will get through but you play it because you are playing at home, for pride to try to get a result and you team is trying to play well. I have a couple of players back from suspension…which eases our problems so we will put a team out. Andy Carroll will also get a game at some stage. He will get more minutes than he he has had in the last game which is obviously another important factor for us. Hopefully we can given Man City a real tough game and try and get something out of it.’
West Ham United Team News:
OUT:
Winston Reid
Guy Demel
Player to watch: Andy Carroll
Much as City rarely concede from set pieces these days, most notably from corners, the likes of Andy Carroll knocking about will always give any defence a run for their money. The big £15 million man from Gateshead will feature in some capacity here as he is brought back cautiously from injury with only 2 substitute appearances so far this season in the past week or so. Always a threat.
Manchester City Team News:
OUT:
Samir Nasri
LATE FITNESS TEST:
Jack Rodwell
Stevan Jovetic
Player to watch: Javi Garcia
It might surprise some observers to know that Garcia has featured in 27 of City’s 35 games so far this season. The 6ft 1in midfielder has been criticised during his time in Manchester for a somewhat pedestrian approach, but in recent appearances during City’s impressive run of form he has begun to put a shift in. Long may his revival continue.
Match Facts & Stats
THE NUMBERS GAME:
The Blues 6-0 first leg whammer was the joint-biggest League Cup semi-final win in history. West Ham were also beaten 6-0 in the first game by Oldham in 1990.
The Hammers have lost 5 of their last 6 League Cup semi-final ties and haven’t reached a final since 1980-81.
West Ham are 500-1 shots to turn this tie around.
HEAD TO HEAD
League: 42 City Wins, 14 Draws, 33 West Ham Wins
FA Cup: 1 City Win, 1 Draw, 2 West Ham Wins
League Cup: 2 City Wins, 1 Draw
Total: 45 City Wins, 16 Draws, 35 West Ham Wins
THIS COULD BE THE LAST TIME:
We 08Jan 2014 Man City 6 – 0 West Ham
Sa 19 Oct 2013 West Ham 1 – 3 Man City
Sa 27Apr 2013 Man City 2 – 1 West Ham
Sa 03Nov 2012 West Ham 0 – Man City 0
Su 01May 2011 Man City 2 – 1 West Ham
Betting: West Ham 7 Draw 17/4 City 2/5 Racing Post Soccerbase
FORM LAST 6 GAMES ALL COMPETITIONS:
West Ham: DLLLWL
City: WDWWWW
CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR PREDICTIONS AND FOLLOW THE GAME LIVE IN THE VMC FORUM
TV COVERAGE: Sky Sports 1 uk / 1HD
LiveOnSat.com
mcfcofficial: HIGHLIGHTS City 6-0 West Ham Capital One League Cup goals
Ref Watch:
Chris Foy of Merseyside
– Last Season: Sa 01Sep 2012 Man City 3 – 1 QPR PL, Su 25Nov 2012 Chelsea 0 – 0 Man City PL, Su 14Apr 2013 Chelsea 1 – 2 Man City FACSF – This Season: We 04Dec 2013 West Brom 2 – 3 Man City PL -2012/13: 31 Games, 64 Yellows, 2 Reds. -2013/14: 19 Games, 49 Yellows, 2 Reds.
Match Prediction:
Johnny On The Spot:
The job is only half done will be the mantra from Manuel Pellegrini but six goals to the good, the shrewd Blues chief will know that his exciting squad already have one foot in a League Cup final against Sunderland or The Stretfords. Some might say that players find it hard to motivate themselves for a second leg when the current winning margin is as great as it is in this contest, but the momentum The Blues have right now, unbeaten in 17 fixtures of which 15 have been won suggests otherwise. West Ham in almost absolute contrast are struggling badly and as Sam Allardyce has already pointed out, are playing for pride. This is the first of this week’s domestic cup double header, the second coming at home to Watford on Saturday and The Engineer will be eager for his men to get the job done in London professionally and efficiently. I’ve recently suggested that much will depend upon his team selections for cup progress, but such is the intensity of City’s fixture list across four competitions and the squad’s increasing ability to play the same style of football no matter who gets the nod, all of a sudden team rotation no longer appears to be an issue and if anything, is galvanising City’s players to higher heights. I’m forecasting an away win, but reckon the likes of Kevin Nolan are going to rough The Blues up a bit.
West Ham 0 City 2
Next Fixtures:
all times East Manchester GMT
Sa 25 Jan 15h00 Watford, The Etihad, FAC4
We 29Jan 19h45 Tottenham Hotspur, White Hart Lane, PL
Mo 03Feb 2014 20h00 Chelsea, The Etihad, PL
Sa 08Feb 15h00 Norwich City, Carrow Road, PL
We 12Feb 19h45 Sunderland, The Etihad, PL
Tu 18Feb 19h45 FC Barcelona, CL
Sa 22Feb 15h00 Stoke City, The Etihad PL
Sa 01Mar 15h00 The Stretfords, the swamp, PL