Man City vs West Ham
Women's FA Cup Final 2019
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Date: Saturday, May 4, 2019
Kick-off: 5:30pm BST
West Ham United Women will look to make an impressive debut campaign as a professional outfit truly memorable when they compete in the FA Cup Final on Saturday.
The Hammers defeated Reading on penalties after a 1-1 draw to book their place at Wembley just a year after being given a full-time license and only six weeks to build the team ahead of a maiden Super League campaign.
Matt Beard's seventh-placed side secured their top-flight safety by Christmas and head into tomorrow's grand occasion on a high after Jane Ross' late header sealed a 2-1 win at Bristol City last time out.
West Ham will be considerable underdogs against formidable 2017 winners Manchester City, who are looking to go a whole domestic campaign unbeaten.
They will not have a chance to win the treble having already guaranteed a second-place finish behind champions Arsenal in the Super League ahead of a final-day meeting with the Gunners, whom they beat on penalties in the League Cup final in February.
City ousted holders Chelsea at the last-four stage thanks to a stoppage-time own goal from Magdalena Eriksson.
Man City vs West Ham team news predicted line-ups
In 19-goal England international Nikita Parris, City boast a prolific scorer, with the 25-year-old - along with captain Steph Houghton and Keira Walsh - one of three players from the same team nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association Women's Player of the Year award eventually won by Arsenal's Vivianne Miedema.
City made six changes for their 2-1 win against Yeovil but coach Nick Cushing confirmed that he has no injuries for the final, with the likes of Jill Scott and Jen Beattie expected to return.
West Ham's top goal-getter in the WSL is former City player and Scotland international Ross, who lifted three major trophies during her two-and-a-half year stint in Manchester.
Man City XI: Bardsley, McManus, Houghton, Beattie, Stokes, Scott, Walsh, Wulllaert, Stanway, Parris, Weir
West Ham XI: Moorhouse, Simon, Flaherty, Hendrix, Rafferty, Reichardt, Longhurst, So-Hyun, Lehmann, Ross, Kiernan
Score prediction: Man City 2-0 West Ham
A victory would be a true fairytale for West Ham, but City's domestic form is terrific and they will be desperate to avoid defeat in these final two matches to preserve an unbeaten campaign.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Man City to win: 2/9
- Draw: 4/1
- West Ham to win: 8/1
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
Man City vs West Ham tickets
For Women's FA Cup Final ticket information, click here to visit the FA website.
Midweek estimates suggested that more than 52,000 tickets have been sold for the game, which would be a record attendance and in keeping with the rising interest in the women's game.
45,423 attended last year's final between Arsenal and Chelsea.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
West Ham were thrashed 7-1 by a weakened City side at the Academy Stadium in October, conceding three goals in the opening 20 minutes and four in the final 20.
They lost their home Super League fixture 3-1 thanks to goals from Caroline Weir, Lauren Hemp and Parris.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will be shown live on BBC One, with coverage beginning at 5:10pm BST. It is also available to view on the Red Button from 5:15pm.
You can follow all the action on Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
