After the start of the football season, today is the other day I look forward to. The magic of the FA Cup is something special and as football fans, one thing we all have in common is hope, so it sort of brings us all together, if only for a brief moment.

This is a surprisingly difficult game to predict because Hull are not where you would have thought them to be and they're actually doing better than most expected.

If we win this match we create a six point gap between us and Arsenal, who you'd have to fancy are going to be our main threat to securing a Champions League place this season.

Lose and we're all even again and with only one goal separating us in terms of goal difference it could be that they go ahead of us. Sort of makes this an important match doesn't it?

I have to be very careful about what I write today. Step over the line a little or act too confident and I'll have 200 comments from West Ham fans sitting in internet cafes all over East London. There you go, that should do it.

Anyway, it's not just the West Ham fans I've got to be worried about as I've got to be careful about how I write about resting half the team for the match in Hamburg also.

First things first, we are through to the next stage of the UEFA Cup and as tournaments go, winning this group might not be the best thing in the world that can happen and I'm not convinced Martin O'Neill is overly concerned, however I suspect he'd love to finish in first place.

The away support are going to want to see a bit of fight though and I don't think they'll be disappointed, however it's likely that Martin O'Neill will use this match to rest a few players and that a few fringe players will be starting.