David Moyes has named a strong team for today’s Emirates FA Cup fourth round tie with Doncaster Rovers at London Stadium.
Łukasz Fabiański, Tomáš Souček, Manuel Lanzini and Saïd Benrahma all keep their places after starting Tuesday’s 2-1 Premier League win over West Bromwich Albion.
They are joined in the team by a new but experienced back four in Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Fabián Balbuena and Ben Johnson.
Souček and captain Mark Noble – making his 30th FA Cup appearance and 514th overall for the Irons – anchor the midfield.
Ahead of them, Lanzini and Benrahma are joined by Pablo Fornals in support of centre-forward Andriy Yarmolenko (pictured), who arrived from the substitutes’ bench to assist Michail Antonio’s winner against the Baggies in midweek.
Antonio is named among the nine substitutes, five of whom can be used this afternoon.
He is joined on the bench by goalkeeper Nathan Trott, defenders Vladimír Coufal, Aaron Cresswell, Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Jamal Baptiste, midfielder Declan Rice and forward Oladapo Afolayan.
England youth international Baptiste, who only turned 17 in November, is a versatile, ball-playing centre-back who made U18s and U23s debuts at 15, becoming the second-youngest Hammer to represent the Irons at U23 level behind teammate Jayden Fevrier.
Afolayan, 23, is a centre-forward who joined the Hammers from Solihull Moors in February 2018. A former Chelsea schoolboy, Afolayan moved to Canada as a 16-year-old and studied at Loughborough University before returning to football as a career at the age of 19 in 2017. He has spent time on loan at Oldham Athletic and Mansfield Town.
Darren Randolph, who started in goal in the third-round win at Stockport County, has picked up a knock in training and misses out as a precaution.
Frederik Alves, who was among the unused substitutes at Edgeley Park, made his debut for the U23s against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday evening and is not involved.
As everyone knows, England is now under national lockdown due to the ongoing pandemic, meaning the game will be played without supporters present. However, the match will be shown live in the UK on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website, meaning our fans will be able to follow the action, safely, from home.
West Ham United: Fabiański, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Johnson, Noble ©, Souček, Lanzini, Benrahma, Fornals, Yarmolenko
Subs: Trott (GK), Coufal, Cresswell, Dawson, Ogbonna, Baptiste, Rice, Afolayan, Antonio
Doncaster Rovers: Balcombe, Halliday, James, Butler, Anderson, Wright, John, Smith, Taylor, Lokilo, Okenmabirhie
Subs: Jones (GK), Williams, Richards, Simoes, Blythe, Amos, Ravenhill
