Aiming to avoid a second knockout exit within the space of a month, West Ham United welcome Bristol City to the London Stadium for Sunday's FA Cup third-round scrap.
The Hammers' opening fixture of 2024 ended in a 0-0 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, while the Robins fell to a 1-0 Championship loss to Millwall last time out.
Match preview
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The Irons faithful have experienced both cup highs and cup lows in equal measure over the last 12 months, witnessing their beloved outfit conquer the third tier of European football before last month's humiliating 5-1 EFL Cup defeat at the hands of Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
However, David Moyes's men have kept the back door firmly bolted shut since that Anfield horror show, ending a memorable 2023 with back-to-back 2-0 wins over Manchester United and Arsenal before going in search of a third successive win when Brighton came to the capital.
The Hammers' victorious streak was brought to an abrupt end in that goalless stalemate, though, and Moyes was indebted to on-song goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for denying the Seagulls all three points at the London Stadium, although that draw was enough to keep West Ham in a respectable sixth place in the table.
Should West Ham's Premier League avenue to European football be closed off in the coming months, another shot at continental qualification could present itself in the form of a fourth FA Cup triumph, a competition which the Irons won for the third and most recent time in 1980.
Beaten finalists in a classic 2006 final with Liverpool, West Ham have made it past the third round in each of the last six editions since losing to Manchester City at this stage in 2016-17, and they have conceded just one goal in their last five FA Cup home contests.
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One goal was all that separated Bristol City during their Championship affair with Millwall on Monday evening, but unfortunately for Liam Manning and co, that solitary strike came at the wrong end of the Ashton Gate field with moments remaining.
Inside the first two minutes of second-half injury time, Millwall skipper Shaun Hutchinson - a centre-back by trade - produced the turn and finish of a seasoned striker to nick a narrow win for Joe Edwards's team, ending the Robins' four-game unbeaten run in the Championship.
Taking 10 points from a possible 12 represented a magnificent end to 2023 for Bristol City, but failure to get the better of Millwall leaves Manning's team in an unremarkable 11th place in the table, albeit just four points adrift of the coveted playoff places.
Championship matters now take a back seat as Manning returns to his old stomping ground - the 38-year-old spent a few years as head coach of West Ham's Under-21s before departing in 2019 - but Bristol City have followed a peculiar pattern in the FA Cup in recent years, alternating between third-round losses and third-round wins ever since the 2013-14 season.
Having progressed as far as round five in 2022-23, the omens are not promising for the Robins if that pattern is to be continued against West Ham, who overcame Bristol City in the fourth round of the 2014-15 tournament thanks to a Diafra Sakho effort.
Team News
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For the next couple of weeks at the very least, West Ham will work around the absence of Africa Cup of Nations representatives Mohammed Kudus (Ghana) and Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), while out-of-favour defender Thilo Kehrer has departed for Monaco on loan.
First-team coach Billy McKinlay faced the media in place of Moyes this week, and he confirmed that all of Lucas Paqueta (knee), Michail Antonio (knee), Kurt Zouma (knee) and Vladimir Coufal (illness) would be assessed on Saturday to determine their availability.
A former FA Cup winner with Arsenal in 2014, Lukasz Fabianski ought to displace Areola in between the sticks for the Hammers, while Conor Coventry, Maxwel Cornet and Danny Ings should be among other fringe players pushing for starting roles.
As for Bristol City, not one member of Manning's squad has been summoned for AFCON or Asian Cup duty this month, but the Robins have lost Mark Sykes for a few weeks with the hamstring issue he sustained against Millwall on Monday.
Kal Naismith remains sidelined with a similar concern, while Rob Atkinson and Ayman Benarous are still on the long road to recovery from ACL injuries, and Ross McCrorie will soon build up his fitness with the Under-21s following a bacterial infection and subsequent operation.
On a positive note, Haydon Roberts is back in full training following an ankle concern and ought to return to competitive action within a couple of weeks, and the Robins have already been active in the January window, snapping up 18-year-old Irish midfielder Adam Murphy from St Patrick's Athletic.
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Johnson, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Coventry, Soucek; Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Cornet; Ings
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Dickie, Vyner, Pring; James, Williams; Weimann, Knight, Bell; Conway
We say: West Ham United 2-0 Bristol City
No Premier League outfit is immune from the odd FA Cup shock, but with West Ham producing a string of exemplary defensive performances in recent matches, Moyes's men should experience little trouble en route to the fourth round.
Bristol City's failure to make the net bulge against Millwall means it is now back-to-back games without scoring for the Robins, who have not beaten the Irons since 1978 and should be kept waiting for their next such success.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
