Derby County v West Ham United preview

Jarrod Bowen’s form suffered this season as he chased a place in England’s 2022 World Cup squad, says West Ham boss David Moyes.

He scored twice in the Premier League from the start of the season to November, before the pause for the World Cup.

“He’s not performed well in the first half of the season,” said Moyes.

Bowen and West Ham visit League One Derby County on Monday in the fourth round of the FA Cup and Moyes added: “He didn’t get goals.

“If he’d got three or four goals he might have been the one going to the World Cup, maybe more so than some others who popped in at the last minute.

“He was so disappointed with himself, gutted that he didn’t do that. I think it was hanging on him a little bit.”

Bowen scored for the first time in the league since October when netting a double in the Hammers’ 2-0 win over Everton earlier this month.

Moyes hopes those goals can give the forward – who got 18 in all competitions last season – confidence for the rest of the season, starting with the tricky trip to Derby.

“He can score, he can create goals, he’s been a great buy for us and a really good team player,” said the Hammers manager of Bowen.

Derby are fourth in League One and on a 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Manager Paul Warne, who joined the Rams from Rotherham in September, says he doesn’t view the fixture with a “David-Goliath attitude”.

“I appreciate Derby are a big club, but the gulf between League One and the Premier League is pretty phenomenal,” he added.

“I don’t think we go into it with any expectation or pressure which, considering most games we play we are outright favourites, will be nice.”