West Ham’s FA Cup third round tie against Gillingham has been picked for live BT Sport television coverage.
The game at Priestfield will now be played on Sunday, January 5th with the unusual kick-off time of 6.16pm.
It is one of four matches in this round selected for television coverage by BT Sport.
They will also be showing Rochdale or Boston v Newcastle United (12.31pm) and Wolves v Manchester United (5.31pm) on Saturday, January 4 plus Middlesbrough v Tottenham Hotspur (2.01pm) on January 5.
The Hammers have played the Kent side ten times since 1912 with six wins, one draw and three losses.
The first game between the pair played in November 1912 resulted in 4-0 win in the Southern League First division.
There was then a gap of 88 years until played the Gills in League One/Championship in 2003/2005 and 2004/2005 season winning three and losing one.
West Ham’s last game against Gillingham came over 14 years ago in February 2005 with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Marlon Harewood.
Let us hope that we dont give the TV people the upset that they are looking for
What a surprise!!! We wait until midnight to see West Ham on MOD -even when the game has more goals than earlier games- but an away fixture in a cup game against a lower league side & it’s shown live.
Waiting for the first claim by the commentator that it is a local derby.