Preview: Derby County vs. West Ham United - prediction, team news, lineups

At a time when the Hammers sit in 16th position in the Premier League table, their hosts are fourth in League One after a five-match winning streak.

Match preview

In his pre-match press conference, West Ham boss David Moyes suggested that he viewed Derby as a club who would not look out of place in the Premier League, and the sentiment is arguably correct given the momentum that is growing at Pride Park.

Nevertheless, you have to go all the way back until 2008 for when these teams last met in the top flight, and just two fixtures have taken place in the Championship since then, both occurring in 2011.

Nostalgia aside, Moyes and his West Ham players will be taking this match seriously having shaken off a six-game winless streak either side of the World Cup break by prevailing in two of their last three contests in all competitions.

Although there is a defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers in between, Moyes will be delighted with the 1-0 triumph at Brentford in the previous round of this tournament and a 2-0 success over Everton last weekend.

The win in the latter game has moved West Ham one point clear of the relegation zone, but that current scenario will not lower West Ham's desire to move through to the last 16 of this competition.

From Derby's perspective, they have already had a taste of facing Premier League opposition this season, holding Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield before losing on penalties.

Since October 25, that is the only time that the Rams have suffered any kind of a defeat, and they are now 19 matches unbeaten across 90 minutes.

Sitting eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places and holding a nine-point lead over seventh position, the playoffs look the most likely outcome for Paul Warne's side come the end of the campaign.

However, this is a team who are have won six games in succession in all kinds of styles, the latest coming at Port Vale in midweek as they netted 87th and 89th minute goals to pull off an unlikely comeback.

As far as this competition is concerned, Derby have come through ties with Torquay United, Newport County and Barnsley to set up a mouth-watering showdown for their supporters.

Derby County FA Cup form:

D

W

W

W

Derby County form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

W

W

West Ham United FA Cup form:

W

West Ham United form (all competitions):

L

L

D

W

L

W

Team News

Barring any injury issues, Warne may be prepared to name the Derby XI which started at Vale Park on January 24.

James Collins is an alternative in attack to David McGoldrick, although the extra recovery time should lead to the 35-year-old retaining his place in the team.

Everton loanee Lewis Dobbin will also come into contention after providing an assist as a substitute last time out, as well as starting three of the four previous games in this competition this campaign.

With Danny Ings and Gianluca Scamacca unavailable, Michail Antonio should lead the line for West Ham, despite speculation regarding a potential exit.

Second-choice goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is in line to feature between the sticks, but Moyes may prefer to name a similar side to the Everton match as he looks for some continuity.

Ben Johnson and Tomas Soucek will come under consideration for recalls, particularly the latter if Declan Rice is handed a rest.

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Wildsmith; Smith, Davies, Forsyth, Roberts; Hourihane, Bird; Mendez-Laing, Knight, Dobbin; McGoldrick

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Fabianski; Zouma, Ogbonna, Aguerd; Coufal, Paqueta, Rice, Palmieri; Bowen, Benrahma; Antonio

We say: Derby County 1-2 West Ham United

There can be no doubting that Derby are relishing this opportunity to test themselves against a Premier League team at Pride Park in front of the television cameras.

Nevertheless, while we expect the game to be competitive throughout, West Ham's superior quality in the final third should shine through at some stage, leading us to predict a hard-fought away victory.

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