To conclude the fourth round of the FA Cup, West Ham will be looking to secure their place in the next round and ensure that they will be the team to negotiate for whoever draws ball number seven in the fifth round draw, which takes place prior to kick-off.
A 2-0 win last weekend against fellow strugglers, Everton, eased some of the pressure on the Hammers' boss, David Moyes, who will be looking for his team to avoid an upset in a challenging tie.
Derby will be looking to claim a Premier League scalp and Paul Warne's team come into the game full of confidence and in great form, being unbeaten in 14 games.
Team News:
Derby County
Centre-back Eiran Cashin could feature after returning to training this week.
Louis Sibley is out with a groin strain, but Warne shared he could be used for Derby’s next game against Morecambe, next Saturday.
Apart from that, there are no new injury concerns for the Rams and they can go into the game with a strong team that has taken them to fourth in League One at present.
Warne is likely to name an unchanged XI, which secured a dramatic late winner against Port Vale last time out.
West Ham
New signing Danny Ings is out after picking up an unfortunate injury making his debut for the club last weekend. However, even if he was fit to play, he would have been cup-tied having already played for Aston Villa in the previous round during their shock loss to Stevenage.
Kurt Zouma will also miss Monday's clash after picking up a hip problem. Zouma had just recently returned to the team after being out following knee surgery.
Gianluca Scamacca misses out again with his knee injury, but an encouragement to Hammers fans is that Moyes hinted recently that the forward is getting closer to returning to the rest of the squad.
Given the nature of the tie, Moyes will be keen to avoid any sort of banana skin, so will name a strong team to get the job done.
Predicted Lineups
Derby County
Wildsmith, Smith, Davies, Forsyth, Roberts, Hourihane, Bird, Mendez-Laing, Knight, Barkhuizen, McGoldrick
West Ham
Areola; Coufal, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Emerson; Rice, Soucek, Paqueta; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma
Key Players
Derby County - David McGoldrick
Scoring the equaliser last time out, David McGoldrick is Derby’s top scorer this season and took his tally to 12 goals in all competitions with his strike at Port Vale.
The former Sheffield United and Ipswich man joined Derby in the summer and has been thriving under Paul Warne since signing a 1-year contract.
The 4-2 win over Bristol Rovers saw McGoldrick net his first hat-trick in a Derby shirt, which earned Warne his first win as Derby manager.
The 34-year-old seems to have established himself as a key part of Derby's success this season and will be a real test for the West Ham back four.
Even at 34, his eye for goal does not seem to be fading and he will be looking to take any chance that is offered to him, as he aims to fire Derby into the 5th round.
West Ham - Jarrod Bowen
A bright spark in a really poor season for West Ham has been Jarrod Bowen. The England international who scored both goals in the 2-0 win vs Everton doubled his tally to four goals for the season.
Bowen's stock has risen highly since joining the club from Hull City in the January transfer window in 2020.
His great form helped West Ham finish seventh in the Premier League last season and help them have a magical season in the Europa League, which ultimately finished being knocked out in the semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Whilst Bowen has not quite hit the heights of the form he has consistently produced over the last few seasons, he will be a key player in this tie and will be hoping his recent brace against Everton can help kick start the kind of form West Ham fans have been used to seeing each week.
Match Details
Where is the game being played?
Pride Park - the home of Derby County.
What time is kick-off?
The fixture is set to start at 7:45pm.
Where can I watch the match?
Fans in the UK can watch the game on ITV4 and ITVX.