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Key events
25 min: Bailey dribbles down the right but can’t get past Scarles and Paqueta. Villa haven’t had a touch in the West Ham box yet.
23 min: Maybe this one’s an impact injury, not muscular. But either way, Barkley can’t continue. He’s replaced by Onana.
22 min: Another man down. This time Barkley. It’s bitterly cold in Birmingham, below zero, so you have to hope everyone gets through this OK.
20 min: Maatsen hesitates, allowing Summerville to nick the ball away from him and attempt to scamper down the right. Villa are fortunate that Summerville can’t keep his balance, having been brushed by Maatsen as he made off with the ball. West Ham are getting a lot of joy down this flank.
18 min: West Ham nearly score a carbon copy of the opener. This time it’s Kudus whistling down the right. He cuts back for Paqueta, who attempts to sidefoot into the same bottom-right corner from 12 yards. This time Cash is wise to the caper, and flings himself in the road to block.
17 min: Now Soucek is down, having copped a high-kick in the ribs from Watkins. All accidental, and thankfully Soucek is soon up and about again.
15 min: Poor Fullkrug limps off the pitch with a little help from the physio. It’s a sorry sight. The poor chap clutches the back of his leg as he hobbles away in pain. Ings, formerly of Villa, comes on in his place.
13 min: Villa win the first corner of the evening down the left. Tielemans takes. Soucek heads powerfully clear, and Kudus batters it into the Villa half. Fullkrug hares after it, but suddenly rears up dramatically, falling to the turf immediately. He takes turns in holding the back of his left leg, and covering his eyes in despair. That’s his hamstring gone.
11 min: That was a lovely counter from West Ham. Seconds before, Kamara had wedged a long pass down Villa’s inside-right channel that dropped over Watkins’ shoulder. Watkins, ahead of Mavropanos in the box, was free, but couldn’t connect, Robbie Fowler style, with a volley.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham United (Paqueta 9)
Kudus, quarterbacking in the centre circle, sprays a pass down the right for Summerville, who drives down the wing, sashays infield, draws Maatsen, and cuts back for Paqueta, free on the spot. Paqueta steers a shot into the bottom right that wrong-foots Olsen. What a finish! Lovely move, and this is some start to the Graham Potter era.
8 min: Some more patient Villa play. They’re dominating the early exchanges, without achieving much.
6 min: Maatsen whips a low, inviting cross through the West Ham six-yard box from the left touchline. It’s a fine delivery, but Watkins is nowhere near it, and in any case the flag pops up for offside.
5 min: Other than that early West Ham sortie, it’s been all sterile Aston Villa possession. The home side finding their feet. “I suspect that neither club would mind losing this one, or at least neither manager,” opines Kári Tulinius. “Emery would be happy to focus on the Big-Eared Cup, and Potter could do with extra days on the training pitch to revamp West Ham’s style. I say revamp, but really it’s a case of giving the team any style, unless they were going for that newfangled ‘sad beige’ that’s all the rage, apparently.”
4 min: A beautiful noise at Villa Park. Glorious bedlam. A proper cup-tie atmosphere, with both sets of fans giving it plenty. Hey, you do what you do to keep warm on a chilly night like this.
2 min: Graham Potter applauded that Paqueta effort warmly. What a start to his West Ham reign that would have been!
1 min: Just 41 seconds on the clock, in fact, and West Ham nearly take the lead in spectacular style. The ball’s shuttled right to left via Wan-Bissaka, Summerville and Paqueta, the latter pearling a diagonal rising shot from 25 yards that misses the top-right corner by an inch or two. Not sure Olsen was getting there.
West Ham get the ball rolling. A reminder that this tie will be decided tonight, after extra time and penalty kicks if necessary. And there’s no VAR!
The teams take to the pitch. We already know about Villa’s black shirts; West Ham pair those with their fetching white and claret third kit. Everyone looking sharp, looking good. A brilliant under-the-lights £1.50-a-pint-fuelled atmosphere at Villa Park. Anniversary-marking jets of flame blast into the night sky. Anticipation crackles around the famous old stadium, though that’ll be tempered with the knowledge that Villa’s recent record in the FA Cup is nothing short of disgraceful. Since reaching the final in 2015 – and there’s a match they’d rather forget – they’ve only won two FA Cup ties. Two! And those against lower-league sides in Wycombe and Middlesbrough. Two wins, though.
Villa boss Unai Emery speaks to ITV. “Good evening … the history of this cup is very important … a way for us for a trophy … seven times Villa won, a long time ago … we are proud of those trophies Villa won … we need this competition … a chance to get to Europe … West Ham are going to be motivated … for every team it is important … we want to be a protagonist in this competition … we need to connect with our fans … our wish to win is strong.”
These clubs have only met in the FA Cup on three previous occasions, and anyone who believes in omens will be excited that they’re meeting for a fourth. The first-ever showdown in 1913 saw Villa win 5-0 in the second round, thanks to goals from Harold Halse (2), Clem Stephenson, Harry Hampton and William Morris; they went on to lift the trophy. The third time they met, West Ham legend Ray Stewart scored the only goal in the 1980 quarter-finals, and the Hammers ended up raising the cup at Wembley. The one in the middle, a 3-0 victory for Villa courtesy of goals from John Deehan (2) and Dennis Mortimer, didn’t lead to any glory whatsoever, so in that sense muddies the waters. But two out of three ain’t bad. Today’s winner is therefore permitted to dream, and dream big. (Superstitious Villa fans can also, in the event their team loses 1-0 like they did in 1980, assume they’re going to win the league next year and the European Cup in 2027.)
Graham Potter is celebrating his 24-hour anniversary as West Ham United boss, and here’s the new boss talking to ITV. “West Ham are a fantastic football club … great history, tradition … ambition … a family feel … a well-functioning academy … an ambitious board … it felt really right … I feel like I’ve come back stronger … a better person and coach … I’m really excited … we had a training session yesterday … met everybody … tried to get my bearings … prepared the team … a day in the hotel today as well … the response has been brilliant … the players have taken on little messages … we understand what we’re trying to do so onto the game.”
Aston Villa are celebrating their 150th anniversary tonight. To mark the occasion, various match-day items have been priced at £1.50, including lager, pies, sausage rolls, soft drinks, scarves, beanie hats, caps, the commemorative programme, and the shuttle bus from Birmingham city centre to Villa Park. That’s a lovely touch. The commemorative shirt isn’t priced at £1.50, mind, but let’s not expect the moon on a stick. In any case, that’s not stopped the kit already selling out online, and you can understand why, because it’s delicious: all black, reflecting the club’s first colours before they transitioned to their storied claret and blue, with retro rampant-lion crest, no sponsors, and no names on the back. Happy birthday, Villa!
Aston Villa make three changes to their starting XI after last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League home win over Leicester City. Emiliano Martínez makes way for Robin Olsen in goal. Morgan Rogers and Ian Maatsen step up, while Lucas Digne drops to the bench and captain John McGinn sits this one out injured.
West Ham United also make three changes, after the strange 4-1 defeat at Manchester City that sometimes promised more but ultimately cost Julen Lopetegui his job. Łukasz Fabiański replaces Alphonse Areola in goal. Konstantinos Mavropanos and Oliver Scarles coming in, with Vladimír Coufal benched and Jean-Clair Todibo out injured. The 19-year-old midfielder Scarles, who has appeared a couple of times as a Premier League sub, will make his first start for West Ham.
The teams
Aston Villa: Olsen, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, Bailey, Barkley, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Digne, Bogarde, Onana, Ramsey, Jimoh, Buendia, Burrowes.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles, Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Summerville, Fullkrug.
Subs: Foderingham, Cresswell, Soler, Coufal, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Irving, Casey.
Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).
Preamble
Two grand old clubs with a proud FA Cup pedigree meet tonight. Aston Villa have won the cup on seven occasions, a record only bettered by six others, while West Ham boast three wins on their resumé, plus a supporting role in one of the competition’s greatest stories, the White Horse Final. All good and well, the only problem being that everything happened such a long time ago. West Ham haven’t won it since 1980, Aston Villa since 1957. Villa have only featured in two subsequent finals, failing to turn up in 2000 then falling apart in 2015; West Ham have only made one more, though to be fair were a last-minute lightning bolt away from victory in 2006. However for both it’s been quite the wait. Who’ll still have hope of ending theirs once we’re done here tonight? Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, and we go to extra time and penalties if necessary. It’s on!