Good evening everyone and thank you for joining us as we bring you live coverage of West Ham United's third-round FA Cup clash with Manchester City at the London Stadium.

Tonight's fixture opens what promises to be an exciting round of FA Cup action this weekend. Both of these sides have endured testing winter period and will be hoping to make some headway away from the league with a positive performance in the English showpiece this evening.

West Ham have faired pretty well on home turf during this tournament. The Hammers have lost just one of their previous eight FA Cup games at home and that defeat came against Manchester United last season. The London Stadium has proven to be a rather difficult place for the Irons this season, though.

As for City, this is the fourth time in a row that the Sky Blues have been drawn away against Premier League opposition in the cup so they should know what is in store for them tonight. Last season's cup campaign did not go too well for City as we all know - they lost 5-1 to Chelsea in the fifth round last season, which registered as their biggest defeat in the FA Cup since 1960.

The visitors know how to get beyond this round too. City have moved beyond the third round in six of the last seven campaigns. The only exception to that rule came in a defeat to Manchester United back in 2012. The club won the trophy for their fifth time when they got the better of Stoke in 2011.

Time for some team news now...

WEST HAM UNITED STARTING XI: Adrian; Nordtveit, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Obiang, Fernandes; Antonio, Lanzini, Feghouli; Carroll

WEST HAM UNITED SUBSTITUTES: Randolph, Noble, Fletcher, Payet, Calleri, Oxford, Quina

MANCHESTER CITY STARTING XI: Caballero; Sagna, Kolarov, Otamendi, Clichy; Zabaleta, Toure; De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling; Aguero

MANCHESTER CITY SUBSTITUTES: Bravo, Delph, Iheanacho, A Garcia, Kolarov, Nolito, Navas

So the big news from Slaven Bilic's camp is that the manager has made three changes from the club's last outing in the Premier League. Andy Carroll has come in up top to replace Dimitri Payet, while Adrian returns in goal and Cheikhou Kouyate steps out of the midfield to be replaced by Edimilson Fernandes.

Guardiola appears to be taking no chances with his team selection either. City's starting XI is as strong as you might think. Sergio Aguero leads the line in attack, with further support being provided by a three of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Raheem Sterling.

This fixture presents an important opportunity for Aguero. The Argentine is now just one goal away from becoming the third highest scorer in City's history. He needs to find the net tonight in order to surpass Colin Bell on 153 goals, while he is currently only better by Tommy Johnson (166) and Eric Brook (178) in the club's scoring records.

The Hammers have not lost at home in this competition since being beaten by Arsenal in 2010. That said, the Hammers have a rather torrid record against City across all competitions. Records show that West Ham have won only two of their past 15 league and cup games against City - drawing three and losing 10.

Bilic's decision to leave Payet on the bench seems like an interesting one. The Frenchman has in fact had a hand in five goals in six appearances for West Ham in the cup, having scored three and created two assists.

This will be Guardiola's first real taste of the FA Cup and it has arguably come at a good time for the Spanish coach. His side have endured a rather tough winter. The club's recent victory over Burnley went some way to make up for a frustrating December, but you can't help but feel the coach has seemed a tad frustrated with the demands of English football, something that he has made abundantly clear during his recent press conferences.

Despite their losses to Manchester United and Leicester City, the Hammers have gone through a slight revival in fortunes of late after picking up previous wins over Swansea City, Hull City and Burnley. West Ham showed a lot of spirit during the defeat to Mourinho's men, especially given the amount of games played during the winter and the odd dismissal of Sofiane Feghouli early on in that game. Luckily for Bilic, Feghouli and the club won their appeal against that red card and the winger has been able to return to the starting line-up this evening.

The last time the Hammers beat City in the FA Cup was back in 2006. They won 2-1 in a quarter-final at the Etihad thanks to a Dean Ashton brace and went on to reach the final of the tournament that year.

Pep has made the decision to give Claudio Bravo a rest in goal tonight - does that hint at any potential time on the sidelines for the keeper in the future? Willy Caballero features between the sticks at the London Stadium and he will be wanting to retain his place in goal for the coming weeks ahead.

This is only the fourth time that these two clubs have faced each other in the FA Cup, actually... West Ham have claimed 2-1 away wins in both 1998 and 2006, while City beat them 1-0 in a replay at the Etihad Stadium in 2008. City have the upper hand on the Hammers across all competitions, but the London club do in fact stand in a position of slight dominance when looking at FA Cup history.

The away side have opted for a very strong team, but you have to spare a slight thought for Khelechi Iheanacho who has had to settle for a place on the bench. The youngster has a standout record in this competition having notched four goals and one assist in his three previous FA Cup appearances as a senior player.

Both coaches have been speaking out ahead of this clash and Bilic has made clear that his opponents will be taking this fixture seriously. Here's what he has had to say, according to BBC Sport:

"They [City] had a brilliant start to the season and then they slowed down a little bit. This is a big game for us and big game for them, it is the FA Cup and it is big for the fans.

"They will put out a very strong team because it is a big chance for them to get a trophy. Maybe after the great start they made, maybe some fans, pundits or football people expected them to cruise in the league, especially with [Pep] Guardiola, especially after that start. But it is never easy in any league, especially here. They are not struggling but, for their standards, to be seven points from the top is probably not what they expected."

The Hammers will be eager to produce some fireworks on home soil in 2017. The club has not enjoyed the best of times at their new ground and they will want to produce some big nights for their history books at the London Stadium. Knocking City out of the tournament would be a good way to start. The Irons last won the FA Cup in 1980 and came runners up in 2006. The club so far has three FA Cup crowns to its name.

Temperatures have picked up slightly today in east London. It's around six or seven degrees in Stratford at the moment and we are expecting some rain throughout the evening.

Here's a quick clip of some of the West Ham squad arriving at the stadium a little earlier... We are now just 15 minutes away from kickoff!

Slaven Bilic and his Hammers have arrived at @LondonStadium for our @EmiratesFACup clash v @ManCity #COYI ⚒ https://t.co/3z9LFG7nLL — West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) January 6, 2017

Guardiola has shown lots of worth in tournament competitions before so the strength of his selection here is hardly a huge surprise. At Bayern Munich, the Spaniard was able to lead the Bavarians to German Cup glory twice during his time at the Allianz Arena.

Bilic is no strange to English tradition, though, and he will know the romance and importance that these sort of fixtures pose for both clubs and fans. This week marked 21 years since the Croatian first made his association with the Irons.

Given Fernandinho's suspension, it will be intriguing to see how Pablo Zabaleta adapts to playing in the centre of the park - that is unless Pep has something different up his sleeve. That area might be somewhere West Ham will want to exploit, along with Carroll's ariel efficiency in attack.

Here we go then! The players are now lined up in the tunnel as we await the start of the weekend's FA Cup action.

Bubbles abound as the players shake hands ahead of kickoff. The fans are in full song at the moment and this ground is starting to feel like something West Ham might just be proud of for once. Let's hope that they can keep this atmosphere up throughout the contest.

KICKOFF! City feature in all sky blue and they get things moving from right to left. The Hammers are in their usual claret and blue strip.

Some early West Ham pressure sees the home side move things forward at pace through Feghouli down the right channel. The winger looks for options before deciding to have a wild hack on goal, which flies amusingly wide of the target.

The hosts have settled rather confidently thus far as they move the ball around in their own half. City get their first chance to get a foot on the ball with Sterling, but he is denied with ease by Reid down the left wing as the visitors aim to make some early progress.

Carroll looks up for this! The big man manages to win back possession inside the City half with some impressive pressing, but City are quick to challenge back and Otamendi takes control of the situation with a smart covering run on the edge of the box.

Pep's men are slowly growing into proceedings. Sterling picks up the ball inside the West Ham half and produces a tantalising run inside the box, first beating Reid, before then being denied by a standout sliding tackle from Nordtveit who does well to concede the corner.

CHANCE! What an effort that would have been. All De Bruyne here as the playmaker produces an outstanding pass from inside his own half to pick out the run of Silva on the right. The Spaniard comes inside and picks out a deft pass for the on-rushing Zabaleta inside the area, but the makeshift midfielder sees his caressed finish blocked in front of goal by Reid. Brilliant defending from the centre-back to prevent an almost-certain goal.

The Irons have just started to sit off the visitors and City are now well-placed with the ball. The home side are holding resolute at the minute, but Bilic will likely want them to be a little tighter on their opponents and a touch quicker with the press.

Aguero gets his first real chance to have a run at the back-four and it looks like he might just do some damage, although Obiang gets over in the nick of time to prod the ball away from the Argentine and provide the hosts with some slight relief.

CHANCE! Adrian is not a happy bunny. Very loose defending from West Ham sees Clichy slip the ball into the run of Silva, who cuts back and fires a shot straight at the legs of the West Ham stopper.

West Ham finally wake up in the final third as Feghouli opts to engage Clichy on the right. The ball eventually works its way into the path of Antonio, who lashes a shot at goal where he is denied by strong fists from Caballero.

United have started to improve their pressing and City are having to move the ball slightly quicker. Carroll shows great strength to bring the ball down before it gets worked across the City box. Possession is then moved out to Feghouli who is able to pick out a delightful ball for the frontman, but his effort at the back-post is blocked by Otamendi.

OUCH! Sterling is lucky to get away with a poor challenge on Nordtveit, as he escapes a yellow but concedes a foul. The ball is whipped into the box in a bid to find Carroll, leaving City to clear easily at the first attempt. Not much giving at either end for now.

Balls into the box have caused City problems this season. Nordtveit recognises that and plays a flat one over the top for Antonio, who heads wide of the target after applying some rather hefty pressure on Otamendi.

The pace has dropped from proceedings, but that's what West Ham will want as they aim to strengthen their foothold in the game. Nothing much to report at either end, both sides are just about cancelling each other out as it stands.

A neat piece of work from Silva sees the playmaker advance into space before picking out Aguero. The striker brings the ball down inside the area with a wonderful first touch, but his guided pass into the centre of the area is hacked clear by Ogbonna. It only takes a moment with this City side and West Ham will be well aware of that...

TACKLE! Simply brilliant here from Winston Reid. The Hammers are all at sea at the back as Sterling moves unchallenged into the box. It looks as though the winger might just flash his effort beyond the keeper, but the centre-back steals in to produce a memorable last-ditch tackle. From the corner, Aguero produces an outlandish volley on the turn, which is equalled by a world-class save from Adrian, who tips the effort over the crossbar.

You get the impression City are starting to move into something higher than second gear now. They've upped the tempo and Sterling appears to be coming inside a little more often than usual to help inject some pace in behind.

Stones gets the chance to switch the ball over to De Bruyne on the left flank, who has all the space in the world to gallop into. The centre-back can't quite get his pass right, though, leaving the ball to run out of play.

Hmmm, not much sympathy for Ogbonna to be honest. The ball goes in behind the centre-back for the run of Zabaleta, who just about gets there first ahead of his marker, who then gets the slightest of touches on the City man inside the area. The referee points at the spot straight away, leaving Toure to slot home from the spot.

MISS! Oh my word... What a chance for the Hammers to get back into things. The home side go straight down the other end after kickoff with Antonio, who sees his shot parried out into the box by Caballero. The rebound falls straight to the feet of Feghouli, who somehow fumbles his effort across the face of goal and wide under some slight pressure from the challenge of Clichy. That was pretty much an open goal.

West Ham are providing a good response with some good pressing led by Reid from the back. Fernandes robs the ball this time, but Otamendi gets across to block out the ball from reaching the run of Antonio.

You won't see many better team goals than these two. City have notched two in the space of two minutes here at the London Stadium. West Ham first concede possession from a corner, leaving Sagna to lead a breakaway before crossing beautifully into the path of Sterling. It looks like the winger might prod home, but Nordtveit mistakenly knocks the ball beyond his own keeper. The game gets back underway again and City come back once more, moving swiftly through the middle with Sterling, who cuts back wonderfully for Silva to slot into an almost-empty net.

We're going to have two minutes of additional time here...

The game took a while to warm-up, but City have grown into a dominant force in this contest. Five or 10 minutes of increased tempo have done for West Ham. They could not have done too much about the penalty shout, but they were completely undone for the second and third goals. To concede those in such a short space of time will have irked Bilic too. This looks to be the first and last game of the FA Cup played at this stadium this season.

Where do West Ham go from here? Well they need an early goal to start with, but that means opening up and we all know what City are capable of when space is left in front of them.

Bilic might have fancied getting something out of this had his side been able to make it into the break just one goal behind. However, that couple of minutes of football from City was devastating and they have been pretty much full value for this scoreline based on their movement for those goals.

KICKOFF! West Ham get us moving again in the second half... There's very little point in damage limitation in a cup fixture like this - it looks like we're headed for more goals in this period.

City are straight back into their stride in the second offering and Sterling almost carves out the perfect pass for Zabaleta beyond the home defence. Luckily for the Hammers, Reid steps in at the vital moment and is able to clear away the danger.

This isn't what Bilic wants to be seeing at this moment in time. City turn a pretty simple corner towards the back-post, where Stones moves unmarked towards the ball before forcing a good save from Adrian.

There we go, Aguero becomes City's third highest scorer with a fine touch beyond Adrian. Sterling shows great feet down the left channel, before switching the ball inside towards Toure. The midfielder shoots towards goal with a scuffed effort, leaving Aguero to apply the deftest of flicks to divert the ball over a despairing Adrian in the home goal. Game over.

The visitors are not slowing down at all and they obviously smell blood here. West Ham have simply wilted. Much of the success in the second half has had to do with City's full-backs - they're so high up the pitch it's putting Bilic's men under all sorts of pressure in defence.

SUBSTITUTIONS: City make a change as Silva is replaced by Nolito in midfield. West Ham make a couple too as Carroll and Lanzini are replaced by Payet and Mark Noble.

Will those changes inspire something in West Ham? They just need to ensure that this scoreline doesn't get too silly this evening. The visitors do not look like a side ready to spare their opponents here.

Much of West Ham's tactics have involved taking the sting out of proceedings in the middle. They do, however, decide to venture forward through Feghouli on the right. The winger puts in a clever ball for the leap of Antonio, who sends a looping header just inches wide of Caballero's post. Better!

What will be important for the Hammers is to ensure that they can keep their fans on side here. There appears to be a fair few glum faces around and the hosts have just not been up to the job tonight. City have run riot at times. Reid and Adrian have looked like the only two players with any sort of concern out there.

SUBSTITUTION: City make another change as De Bruyne is replaced by 19-year-old Aleix Garcia.

City are moving the ball around with some verve. Pep will be hoping that this confidence will bleed back into their Premier League performances in the coming weeks. Back-to-back wins against Burnley and West Ham might not seem that big an achievement, but these victories could be important for the team going forward into the new year.

SUBSTITUTION: West Ham make their final change of the evening as Antonio is replaced by young striker Ashley Fletcher.

The hosts get the chance to throw something into the box when they win a corner just inside the City half. Payet stands over it, but after much deliberation he then delivers are rather awful ball into the box, which evades everyone and spills through into the safe arms of Caballero.

This contest was over a long time ago and West Ham are playing like a side trying to prevent humiliation. City are happy to sit back at the minute and wait for the counter. Much of their possession has been in deeper areas as they aim to retain possession in the closing stages.

Bilic will be livid with this showing, you would have to think. Granted some moments of magic have taken this game out of their reach, the hosts' management of this fixture has been far too slack. They haven't approached this game with nearly enough pressure or energy to warrant taking something from this.

Look away West Ham fans... It's a fifth for City and again it comes from the visitors being afforded far too much space. A corner is turned into the box, where Stones rises for a third time lucky this evening and is able to head in his first-ever goal for City, despite the best efforts of Noble to clear off the line.

Noble hasn't given things up for the Hammers as he urges his teammates forward inside the City half. The midfielder makes a strong run inside the area, but cannot evade the sliding tackle of Otamendi.

Total dominance there from City, who march on into the fourth round with a brilliant victory over a lowly West Ham side. Pep will be delighted with what he has seen tonight, some of his side's attacking play was a joy to behold. Bilic will be furious with his side's lack of energy from the off and it is hard to see how they will be able to take any positives at all from this defeat. That's going to be it from me tonight, thanks for joining us!