Chelsea vs Manchester City: FA Cup fifth round live as West ham rout Blackburn and Tottenham fall to Crystal Palace

Follow all the action from the FA Cup fifth round live ahead of the evening kick-off between Chelsea and City

Diego Costa opens the scoring against Manchester City (Getty)

Welcome to the Independent’s live coverage of the FA Cup fifth round on the day which sees Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City slog it out at Stamford Bridge. Manuel Pellegrini has expressed his frustration at the fixture pile-up for his title chasing side while the Blues are just happy to still be in with a chance of garnishing their poor season with silverware.

Elsewhere, Blackburn Rovers host top flight outfit West Ham United at Ewood Park while Crystal Palace travel to White Hart Lane to meet Tottenham Hotspur. Mauricio Pochettino’s men are still on track to secure a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League treble.

Today’s fixtures...

• Blackburn Rovers 1 West Ham United 5 – FT  
• No Andy Carroll, Enner Valencia and cup-tied Sam Byram  
• Tottenham Hotspur 0 Crystal Palace 1 – FT  
• Hugo Lloris misses out so Michel Vorm will deputise  
• Chelsea vs Manchester City – 4pm  
• John Terry out with hamstring injury 

Follow all the action below...

Please allow a moment for the blog to load...

Chelsea match 'is not a real game,' says Pellegrini

United play a lead role in killing off football

Brunt hit by coin after West Brom defeat