David Wetherall was not expecting to get too much sleep last night.

The City skipper admits he has been kept awake worrying about David Connolly and Jermaine Defoe, West Ham's white-hot strike force.

"Without even having to think about it, I'd say they were the best two in this league," said Wetherall, ahead of tonight's showdown at Upton Park.

"You can list all the other sides and you will not find two more dangerous forwards. They make a fantastic strike force."

West Ham have lost £18m worth of talent over the summer. Joe Cole, Freddy Kanoute, Trevor Sinclair and Glen Johnson all jumped ship in the financial meltdown that followed relegation from the top flight.

But Wetherall is not fooled by the noises that the Hammers are a club in crisis.

He said: "I think that's a way of West Ham taking a bit of the pressure off themselves. They've sold a lot of players and may not be the force they were but there is still plenty of quality in the line-up.

"Go down their team sheet and you'll see a lot of players who can cut it in the Premier League."

Wetherall and Dean Windass remain from City's previous visit to East London when Dan Petrescu poached an unlikely draw with a last-minute equaliser.

But it is the wild clash during City's first year in the Premiership that Wetherall still remembers vividly.

"We were 4-2 up and ended up losing 5-4, I've never played in a match like it. I walked off at the end feeling completely bewildered by what had gone on.

"So much happened in the space of 90 minutes the whole team were shell-shocked. It was an unbelievable experience."

The drama began when keeper Shaka Hislop got injured after two minutes and the Hammers threw on untried substitute Stephen Bywater.

Wetherall said: "He was a young lad making his debut and looked really nervous. We went 4-2 ahead and Jamie Lawrence got a couple but a few shots that shouldn't have gone in went in.

"Dean Saunders then hit a post before West Ham stuck six men up front, all quality players. They just threw the ball in the box and it seemed to fall for them every time.

"It was a cracking match and hopefully we'll be in for another one tonight. But perhaps this time there will be a few less goals and a better result for us."

City silenced a partisan crowd in Cardiff ten days ago so they will not worry too much about the East End welcome.

Wetherall added: "With the players they've got, West Ham should be in a different league to us on the pitch.

"But it was the same with Cardiff and all the money they have paid out and that wasn't the case."