Manchester City v West Ham United, Capital One Cup: Where to Watch Live, Preview and Team News

Manchester City welcome West Ham United to the Etihad Stadium in the first leg of the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.

Where to Watch Live

Kick-off is set for 7:45pm GMT. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD. Radio commentary of the game will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Overview

City come into this match having drawn 1-1 in their last fixture away against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. The Citizens were forced to a replay in the third round of the FA Cup after Scott Dann equalised for the home side after Alvaro Negredo scored for the visitors just before half-time.

However, Manuel Pellegrini will be confident ahead of this Capital One Cup fixture at home where City have been victorious against all opponents except Bayern Munich and scoring 53 goals in all competitions.

The Citizens qualified for the semi-finals of this competition with a win 3-1 win against Leicester City in the previous round with Aleksandar Kolarov and Edin Dzeko (2 goals) on the score sheet.

The 60-year-old will be hoping that his side will gain the upper hand in the first leg and put one foot into the final at Wembley.

West Ham come into this game after suffering a 5-0 hammering away against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup. Sam Allardyce chose fit to utilise his reserves in that fixture in order to to keep majority of his first-team players fresh for the Capital One Cup clash against City.

The Hammers have only won one of their last nine matches in all competitions. Allardyce's side qualified for the semi-finals after pulling off a shock 2-1 win at the White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur in the previous round as Modibo Maiga and Matt Jarvis ensured Emmanuel Adebayor's goal for the hosts goes in vain.

West Ham find themselves in the relegation zone in the Premier League table at 19<sup>th position with just 15 points from 20 matches. The Hammers manager will be wishing that his side can pull off a giant-killing act in the first leg as he hopes to put behind the Hammers' miserable league form.

What Managers Say

Manuel Pellegrini: "We are not thinking about the four trophies, we are just thinking about winning the next game we have to play. Tomorrow is one of the two games of the semi-final of Capital One, it is very important we play here at home and I suppose we are going to have to have a very good performance to try to win against West Ham."

Sam Allardyce: "We don't have to beat them on Wednesday night we have to come back with something realistic to beat them at home if we can. We have to stay as focussed as we can and we have to nullify what is a great attacking force at home. Everybody knows what that is and how good that is."

Team Form

Manchester City

• Last five (all competitions, most recent first): D W W W W
• Last Result: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Manchester City

West Ham United

• Last five (all competitions, most recent first): L L D L L
• Last Result: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Manchester City

Team Guide

Manchester City

• Injured: Stevan Jovetic (hamstring), Jack Rodwell (hamstring), Sergio Aguero (calf), Micah Richards (match fitness)
• Doubtful: N/A
• Suspended: Dedryck Boyata

Probable lineup: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Kolarov; Milner, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva; Dzeko, Negredo

West Ham United

• Injured: James Tomkins (groin), James Collins (calf), Winston Reid (ankle), Andy Carroll (match fitness)
• Doubtful: Mark Noble (calf)
• Suspended: Kevin Nolan

Probable lineup: Jaaskelainen; Demel, Johnson, Diarra, McCartney; Diame, Collison; J Cole, Morrison, Jarvis; Maiga