FA Cup: West Ham eye fifth round

West Ham vs. Doncaster Rovers
Venue: London Stadium
Kick off: 4PM

West Ham United will be looking to advance to the fifth round of the FA Cup when they welcome Doncaster Rovers to the London Stadium this afternoon.

The Hammers will enter the match off the back of four straight wins, while Doncaster have been victorious in their last three, including a 1-0 success at Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup.

West Ham’s form in recent weeks, and for the majority of the 2020-21 campaign, has certainly given their supporters reasons to be optimistic, and the Hammers will be eyeing a spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup when they welcome League One opposition to the English capital.

David Moyes’s side were far from their best in the third round of the competition, needing a late goal from Craig Dawson to overcome Stockport County, but they have also been victorious twice since then in the Premier League, beating Burnley and West Bromwich Albion in quick succession.

West Ham are now up to seventh in the Premier League table and will be looking to make it four league victories in a row when they travel to Crystal Palace for a London derby on January 26.

However, the Hammers must first focus on the FA Cup – a competition that they have won on three previous occasions, the last of which came in 1980, beating Arsenal in the final.

The capital giants also reached the 2006 final – losing to Liverpool – and they will face either the reigning Premier League champions or Manchester United in the next round of the tournament with a victory here.

Doncaster, meanwhile, will also enter this match in strong form, winning their last three matches against Blackburn, Swindon Town and Rochdale.

Darren Moore’s side overcame FC United of Manchester and Carlisle United in the opening two rounds of this season’s FA Cup before winning 1-0 at Blackburn courtesy of an effort from Taylor Richards.

Donny will be the underdogs heading into this contest, but they are enjoying a strong season to date, picking up 39 points from 20 matches to occupy fourth position in League One.

Doncaster have not actually beaten West Ham in any competition since a 3-0 success in Division Two back in 1956, but they did hold the Hammers to a 1-1 draw when the pair last locked horns in the Championship during the 2011-12 campaign.

West Ham United possible XI: Randolph, Fredericks, Dawson, Balbuena, Johnson, Rice, Noble, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma, Yarmolenko.

Doncaster Rovers possible XI: Balcombe, Wright, Anderson, Butler, John, Halliday, James, Okenabirhie, Richards, Simoes, John-Jules.