West Ham travel to the Etihad this evening for the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final against Manchester City, a game that could prove vital in our recovery this season.

Having been knocked out of the FA Cup, the Capital One Cup remains a real chance for silverware this season. Our squad is depleted and we have struggled to weather Decemeber, but there is a big opportunity to upset City this evening.

Sam Allardyce got the vote of confidence from David Gold and David Sullivan on Monday, but now he has to show the fans that ownership have made the right decision to keep him on.

City’s home record is formidable, having only lost once this season at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Having beaten Spurs in the last round though, the Hammers should be confident they can cause an upset.

New loan signing Roger Johnson will go straight into the squad while Winston Reid, James Collins and James Tomkins are all still sidelined. Mark Noble has an outside chance of being involved while Kevin Nolan will not feature due to his suspension.

Man City will be without Jesus Navas, Sergio Aguero, Steven Jovetic and Jack Rodwell.  Defender Dedryck Boyata is suspended and right-back Micah Richards (hamstring) not yet match fit but centre-back Martin Demichelis is back in contention after injury.