Red Devils face Hammers

LONDON. — West Ham United are hoping to ride a wave of emotion all the way to the FA Cup semi-finals when they host Manchester United tonight in the last Cup tie to be held at their historic Boleyn Ground.

Manager Slaven Bilic felt the atmosphere, at the east London stadium that has been home to some of the greats of English soccer, would give his players an extra boost for the quarter-final replay.

The Hammers will be moving to the Olympic Stadium next season after more than a century at the Boleyn and still harbour hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.

“We are fully motivated and it is a massive game of course. It is massive for us and it is massive for them,” he told reporters yesterday.

“It’s the final FA Cup tie at the Boleyn Ground, it’s Manchester United and it’s the quarter-finals. It can’t be bigger.”

West Ham are sixth in the Premier League, five points behind fourthplaced Manchester City and one point behind United.

Bilic said, however, that the sole focus was on booking a trip to Wembley to face Everton on April 23 in the semifinal.

With the first tie ending 1-1 at Old Trafford, the Croatian sympathised with his Dutch counterpart Louis van Gaal, who has come under intense scrutiny this season. — Reuters.