Into the last 10 minutes at The Den and Millwall have squandered a hatful of chances to go further ahead. Lee Gregory is the biggest culprit, twice missing with the target gaping.

It means Russell Slade still has a chance to remain unbeaten since taking over as Bluebird's boss, though his team will have to produce something special pretty soon if they're going to get back in it.

Image source, Getty Images

Jason Roberts
Former Blackburn Rovers striker on BBC Radio 5 live

"Credit to Zabaleta, he came flying at Downing and tried not to let him have the shot. Manchester City are hanging on here."

Everyone's having a go at the old rabona it seems and Alex Song is no different, a cheeky little effort following Enner Valenica's blocked free-kick sends the ball back into the danger zone, where Stewart Downing smashes wide.

Jamie Smith:, external Funny how Champions League football affects teams in their next Premier League game. Manchester City need to sort themselves out or Chelsea will run away with it.

Andrew Douthwaite:, external Arise Sir Sam of Allardyce. Warden of the North and protector of West Ham.

Dennis Waithera:, external Aaron Cresswell is from which country? Doing great job in that West Ham side.

Cresswell, 24, was born in Liverpool and made his professional debut for Tranmere Rovers in 2008...

Manchester City fans, look away now. The above stat doesn't make for pleasant reading. City know a win would move them to within two points of leaders Chelsea ahead of the Blues' trip to Manchester United. As it stands, Jose Mourinho's side are five points ahead.

Terry Lambert:, external West Ham have outplayed Manchester City. I never thought I would say that! It may end in tears for us (usually does) but enjoying it now!

George Maddocks:, external West Ham home's kit is nice, the football is even slicker though. They're compact and dangerous, unrecognisable from last season.

Ben Prater:, external West Ham have to do as much as they can to sign Alex Song. Holds the team together and can deliver a killer through ball.

Alex Song slips when in possession and doesn't fancy the prospect of Manchester City galloping away on the counter, so snatches the ball and smothers it. Referee Martin Atkinson is not impressed and books the on-loan Barcelona man.

Bubbles fill the air once again as the players emerge for the second half and West Ham get us under way. Can West Ham close out a win that would, for a couple of hours at least, move them three points clear of fifth-place Liverpool? Time to find out.

The stats don't really paint a picture of how that first half unfolded. West Ham had just two shots on target, compared to Manchester City's one, and the hosts had only 33% of the possession. No-one can deny that they are good value for their half-time lead.

What can City offer in the second half?

Mark Chapman
BBC Sport

"Sam Allardyce said Alex Song was 'top trendy' yesterday. He was top class in that first half."

Image source, @carlageorge

BBC Radio Lincolnshire's Carla George on Twitter:, external "It's a rocky road to Wembley. Gainsborough Trinity have swapped coaches after their first one sprung a leak."

Gainsborough are travelling to Gateshead for a 15:00 BST kick-off in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, with a place in Monday's first round draw up for grabs.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel
Football Focus

"It is so great to see former players, in Matt Jansen and Garry Flitcroft, working with a club like Chorley, passing on their experience at that level. All the best to them today. Matt Jansen bought my house actually."

Conference North club Chorley, where Flitcroft is manager and Jansen his assistant, take on Halifax Town, second in the Conference, in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round this afternoon, with a place in the first round proper up for grabs.

Wycombe midfielder Matt Bloomfield wrote in his latest BBC column that he wants to get into management - he might have to wait a while at his current club, with Gareth Ainsworth doing a very good job this season. Wanderers have lost only once in the last 10 games and are ahead at the top on goal difference. They host Dagenham and Redbridge.

There is a tasty clash between near rivals Luton, in third, and Northampton in 16th.

Bottom of the league Tranmere could move out of the bottom two with just a point at Wimbledon.

Who can stop Bristol City? They've been in top spot since 8 September and have somehow not lost a league game this season. The Invincibles of the West Country, who have a six-point lead, are in the South Yorkshire town of Barnsley today.

Third-place Preston, with two games in hand on Posh, do not have a fixture against Blackpool this season, but instead they have another near-neighbour Fleetwood to play.

Leyton Orient in 15th down to bottom club Scunthorpe are only separated by three points. A win for the The Iron over Notts County could see them move out of the relegation places.

Image source, Empics

Arguably, the fixture of the day is at the Riverside where third-placed Middlesbrough play second-placed Watford - who have not changed their manager since 7 October! Victory for Boro would move them into second.

Third to 13th are only separated by five points - expect a lot of moving up and down the table for teams in the next few weeks. Blackburn, in 11th, could go level on points with sixth-placed Nottingham Forest if they win at the City Ground.

At the other end of the table things look desperate for bottom-side Blackpool, who have won one in the last 10 in the league and lost the previous two. They are at 17th placed Reading.

MOTD's Guy Mowbray at the Stadium of Light

"Despite last week's 8-0 humiliation at Southampton, don't expect too many changes to Sunderland's line-up for this one. Had Gus Poyet had another embarrassment - of riches to pick from - then he surely would have been tempted to dump more of his underachievers than the two or three maximum who will make way.

"As it is, largely the same players responsible for the club's joint record heaviest defeat EVER will get the chance to make amends - and they must."

MOTD's John Motson at St Mary's

"There is no doubting that Southampton have been the story of the Premier League season so far.

"With Ronald Koeman's side having already far exceeded expectations, their stunning annihilation of Sunderland last weekend was the icing on the cake.

"Their 8-0 win further enhanced the reputations of Koeman's attacking summer signings."

MOTD's Steve Wilson at The Hawthorns

"The star of Albion's show so far this season is Saido Berahino, who has five goals in his last four games and six Premier League goals so far this campaign. That's more than any Albion player in the whole of last season.

"Neil Warnock deserves credit for keeping up the momentum which might have been lost after Tony Pulis' shock departure from Crystal Palace.

"They may have lost their last two games but they've lost none of their competitive edge and whilst their 11th place finish of last season will be tough to match, they should have enough to stay up."

MOTD's Steve Bower at Anfield

"After an eventful week, Liverpool need a calm, less stressful afternoon and a third consecutive league victory.

"Just one clean sheet in their last 18 matches in all competitions tells its own story. Their vulnerability at set pieces has been a concern and teams are believing they can score against them. Liverpool will look to avoid any drama and concentrate on positive headlines. At least they know nobody will be swapping shirts."

I don't know about you, but I enjoyed that half of football. There is plenty more to come today, so how about a quick look at the rest of the day's action...