West Ham host Manchester City this evening (7.45pm kick-off) looking to avenge the 5-0 mauling they suffered at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s men a few weeks ago.

The two sides met in an FA Cup third round encounter at the start of January, and it was City who produced an excellent display to sweep aside the Hammers 5-0 at the London Stadium thanks to goals from Yaya Toure, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, John Stones, and an own goal from Havard Nordtveit.

However, Slaven Bilic’s men have since then won both of the Premier League matches, with a 3-0 success over Crystal Palace followed by an impressive 3-1 win at Middlesbrough last time out.

It means that the Hammers go into tonight’s clash 11th in the table, but knowing that a win would take them above both Stoke and Burnley into ninth, should the former fail to beat Everton this evening.

It will be West Ham’s first game since the conclusion of the January transfer window, a window which saw the club linked with many high-profile players as Bilic looked to strengthen his squad.

However, they weren’t able to get all deals over the line, and here are THREE massive ones they missed out on last month…

Carlos Bacca

It was clear that West Ham were hoping to bring another striker into the club during January, and one man they were linked with was AC Milan’s Carlos Bacca.

The 30-year-old turned the Hammers down in the summer window to remain at the Italian giants, yet there were reports that the striker was unhappy in Milan despite netting eight goals in 18 Serie A games this season.

Thus, speculation increased that West Ham were going in for Bacca again, yet no deal materialised during the window, although the return to fitness of Andy Carroll somewhat diminished the absolute need for a forward.

Nonetheless, there’s no doubt that Bacca would have bolstered Bilic’s attacking options at the London Stadium, and now that Dimitri Payet has left for Marseille, Hammers fans may be concerned where the goals are going to come from between now and May.

Scott Hogan

West Ham pulled out of the race to sign Brentford striker Scott Hogan on deadline day, with the forward eventually signing for Championship side Aston Villa for £12 million.

The 24-year-old scored 14 goals in 25 games for the Bees this season before moving to Villa Park on Tuesday, with his final goal for the club coming in their 3-1 victory at Birmingham City on January 2.

His prolific season attracted much interest, but Hammers boss Bilic confirmed in his press conference on deadline day that they had decided against signing Hogan, with it clear that the Croat is happy with his current forward options.

Yet, Diafra Sakho’s injury leaves Andy Carroll, Andre Ayew, Jonathan Calleri, and Ashley Fletcher as their forward options and, given that the latter three have just two Premier League goals between them, a striker would have been beneficial during the window.

Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge’s Liverpool future was discussed throughout the month of January, but he remains a Liverpool player until at least the end of the season.

The England striker has started just five of their 23 Premier League games this season, and took until December 27 to score his first league goal of the campaign, the fourth in the 4-1 win over Stoke at Anfield.

The 27-year-old again had to make-do with a spot on the bench in the Reds’ 1-1 draw with leaders Chelsea on Tuesday night, and even when Jurgen Klopp looked to make changes to try and win the game, Sturridge remained on the bench, which says a lot about where he is in the pecking order.

West Ham were linked with a deadline day move for the forward, having pulled the plug on signing Brentford’s Scott Hogan, yet no move materialised, which means that Sturridge will have to make-do with a bit-part role at Anfield for the rest of the season.