Derby 1-3 Manchester United: FA Cup fourth round as it happened

A comfortable evening's work for Manchester United in the end and that victory will begin to ease some of the pressure that has built upon Van Gaal over recent weeks. If they had lost at the iPro Stadium tonight, then it would have been impossible to see anything other than an early exit for the Dutchman.

That is all from us for now, but stay tuned to IBTimes UK for post-match reaction later tonight. We will also be back tomorrow to keep you fully up to date with a bumper FA Cup Saturday, including live coverage of Colchester vs Tottenham and Arsenal vs Burnley in addition to West Ham's trip to Liverpool.

Until then, have a pleasant evening.

Full-time

Derby 1-3 Manchester United

Inventive play from Hendrick in the penalty area and the ball nearly sits up nicely for him but United can clear. The visitors are in complete control as the final seconds wind down.

Three minutes of added time to be played at the iPro Stadium. Surely United are safely through to round five now.

Martial has been a constant thorn in Christie's side tonight, but there were more hints of offside as he collected the ball for that third goal. Again, it was very tight.

Game, set and match United. After being relentlessly hassled by Mata near the right-hand byline, Christie finally gets the ball clear. It comes straight back, however, and the Derby defender is left on his haunches by another trademark run from Martial, who tees up Mata to finish from close range.

That is the Spaniard's first goal in 15 games. No coming back from this now for Derby.

Goal: Derby 1-3 Manchester United (Juan Mata)

A moment of concern for Van Gaal as Smalling stays down after a good clearance to prevent Martin claiming a cross from Ince. The England defender is now back on his feet.

Some very strong and skillful running on display from Martial again tonight, even if his final ball has been occasionally lacking. Rooney looks to test Carson with a lob from distance but he is penalised for a blatant shove on Keogh.

Van Gaal utilises his bench with 15 minutes left to play as Carrick returns from injury in place of Schneiderlin.

Derby respond by sending on Johnny Russell and Jeff Hendrick. Johnson and Thorne are the men to make way.

Impressive anticipation from Varela to spot the danger and get in ahead of Camara to head Ince's cross behind.

Camara then produces a ball of his own for Jacob Butterfield, but the former Huddersfield midfielder gets his finish all wrong and the ball goes well wide.

A Derby corner creates havoc in the United penalty area. Although Martin cannot turn the ball goalbound, there are loud appeals for a penalty as Keogh falls rather theatrically under a high foot from Morgan Schneiderlin.

Replays show that the French midfielder looked to be withdrawing his boot at the time, although there was certainly some holding from Smalling on Jason Shackell.

65 minutes on the clock and United retake the lead. After Blind comes forward from defence and feeds Mata, he stays in the final third and drifts unmarked into the penalty area before dispatching Lingard's low cross into the bottom corner.

Goal: Derby 1-2 Manchester United (Daley Blind)

Derby breathe a sigh of relief as a sustained United attack produces three quickfire chances. Still 1-1 but the visitors are really piling on the pressure now.

Clement makes the first change of the night as Blackman is replaced by fellow January signing Abdoul Camara.

Agonisingly close to a second goal for United as Rooney plays in Lingard, whose cross skips up off Warnock before being headed a fraction wide of the post by Mata.

Martial takes on Christie once more before providing a low ball towards Rooney that the England veteran pokes towards goal only to be denied by a good block from Keogh.

The first yellow card of the evening is awarded to Warnock for a heavy sliding challenge on Varela. No complaints from the Derby captain.

Martin occupies the attentions of Blind and releases Christie down Derby's right flank. The Republic of Ireland international charges forward and delivers a quite brilliant cross over the head of Smalling that Ince is inches away from making contact with.

Blackman collects the loose ball and looks to beat Varela before firing a shot over with his weaker right foot.

Pressure from Derby now as Blackman forces a corner from Varela. Smalling deflects the ball behind for another in quick succession but the referee blows for a foul by Johnson on Blind.

A quick start from Martial as he evades his marker before supplying a dangerous cross that misses Rooney and goes out of play for a throw. Electric stuff from the 20-year-old.

No changes from either Clement or Van Gaal at the break.

The teams have re-emerged from the dressing rooms and the second half is now underway.

United looked extremely comfortable for most of that opening half and such a sweet curling strike from Rooney was good enough to win any game. Derby eventually got their act together, however, equalising with one of their only real chances of the night thus far and finishing the half more dangerous.

This should be set up for a very lively second 45.

Half-time

Derby 1-1 Manchester United

Good play from Blackman as he cuts in from the right-hand side and hits a low shot that just whistles past the base of the post.

Brief appeals for a penalty at the other end as Martial takes on Christie and the Derby right-back touches the ball with his hand before it rolls out of play. Nothing given.

Much more spirit from Derby now as Mata is caught in possession by two swarming white shirts just outside his own penalty box. The ball is played through to Martin, but his first touch leaves a lot to be desired and that allows Chris Smalling to make an impressive covering challenge.

Fellaini releases Martial down United's left-hand side. The Frenchman then easily beats Thorne and plays a dangerous low cross that evades Rooney before a timely clearance from the sliding Warnock. Heroic defending from the home skipper.

To say that this equaliser has come from nothing would be a real understatement. A long punt forward from Carson is flicked on by Martin. Daley Blind beats Ince to the header, but the ball arrives back to Martin and the powerful striker then smartly picks out the forward run of Thorne.

Bursting through from midfield, the former West Brom trainee takes an excellent first touch on his left foot and then lifts the ball over De Gea despite late pressure from Varela. Game on.

Goal: Manchester United 1-1 Derby (George Thorne)

Lovely intricate play from United as Martial cleverly exchanges passes with Mata and plays a swift one-two with Rooney. Sadly the former Monaco forward's touch lets him down at the worst possible moment and the ball runs beyond Carson and out of play for a goal kick.

Derby were certainly carved open there.

No attacking threat at all from Derby at the moment. They have been mostly flat thus far and are not looking particularly robust, especially in midfield. Too easy for United to control possession and knock the ball around freely.

Jesse Lingard has barely featured for United throughout the opening 27 minutes but he whips in an inviting cross towards Rooney that Richard Keogh has to be alert to head away.

After that Blackman header, United break quickly through the marauding Varela. The move eventually ends with a shot from Martial that takes a deflection on its way through to Carson.

A chance for Derby to quickly get back on level terms as Christie receives the ball back from Martin following a throw-in and produces a deep cross towards the back post. Coming in from the left, Blackman gets up above the shorter Varela but his header is saved and held by De Gea.

After being fiercely criticised for much of the season, that was Rooney's sixth goal in his last six games. Replays show he was marginally offside when collecting Martial's pass, which will no doubt aggrieve Clement and Derby.

What a fine goal that is from Rooney. After a pacey passing move involving Borthwick-Jackson and Martial, the United captain picks up the ball from a potentially offside position before opening his right foot and bending an excellent shot past Carson from the edge of the penalty area.

Brilliant finish.

Goal: Derby 0-1 Manchester United (Wayne Rooney)

Blackman is yet to really get involved in this game down the Derby left and he forgets to take the ball with him as he tries to take on Varela. Still in possession, the 26-year-old sends in a low ball that is cleared by Fellaini.

At the other end, Rooney strikes from distance but his effort smacks into Mata and the flag is raised for offside.

Derby break forward through Bradley Johnson before Stephen Warnock swings in a dangerous cross from the left. Martin cannot quite make contact and Ince produces an air shot before Christie cuts inside Martial and fires a shot that is easily held by David de Gea.

The 5,500 United fans in attendance are currently paying tribute to former captain Nemanja Vidic, who announced his retirement from professional football earlier today after an injury-plagued spell at Inter Milan.

United are controlling possession during these early stages. Derby leave only Chris Martin up front as they defend in numbers.

The first chance of the evening falls to United after just three minutes as Martial cuts in from the left and feeds Fellaini. Rooney then taps it back to the Frenchman inside the penalty area, but his attempted sidefoot is too powerful and flies over Scott Carson's crossbar.

That was slick interplay from the visitors, the sort that has been sorely lacking under Van Gaal.

Both sets of supporters are certainly combining to produce a raucous atmosphere inside the stadium. United are on the front foot from the outset, but Cyrus Christie defends strongly against Anthony Martial before Marouane Fellaini runs the ball out of play down the left flank.

Referee Anthony Taylor blows his whistle and we are underway in the east Midlands. Van Gaal's United future likely depends on these next 90 minutes. No pressure, lads...

In the previous round, United needed a stoppage-time penalty from captain Wayne Rooney to see off the challenge of Sheffield United. Derby, meanwhile, squeaked past League Two Hartlepool courtesy of a late Darren Bent winner.

In his pre-match interview with the BBC, Van Gaal denies that this has been the toughest period of his managerial career. Whether that is true or not, there is simply no denying that he needs a confident performance from his side tonight.

10 minutes remaining until kick-off at the iPro Stadium (or Pride Park, for the traditionalists out there).

With Derby likely to utilise their wide players in Tom Ince and £3m January signing Nick Blackman, tonight could be a tricky test for young United full-backs Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.

It is worth noting, however, that the visitors have lost only one of their last 44 FA Cup ties against lower-league opposition. On that occasion, Jermaine Beckford sent rivals Leeds through to the fourth round and silenced Old Trafford with a 19th-minute goal that secured a 1-0 win.

While things have certainly been difficult for Manchester United of late, it's been far from plain sailing for Derby too.

After botching their chances of reaching the Premier League for two seasons in a row, the Rams, who have invested significantly in their playing squad, looked well-placed to make it third time lucky this term only for a recent wobble that has seen them tumble out of the automatic promotion places.

Clement's side are without a win in the league for five matches and followed a 2-0 defeat to rivals Middlesbrough with a dismal performance at home to Reading that led to the cancellation of a planned warm-weather break in Dubai. That does not seem to have helped matters either, with last week's defeat at Burnley preceded by a 3-0 thumping at the hands of Birmingham.

Darmian misses this cup encounter as a result of a nasty collision with Shane Long against Southampton that left him with a painful chest/rib injury that required a trip to hospital. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Phil Jones both remain sidelined, as do the quartet of Ashley Young, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia.

Michael Carrick, however, returns to the matchday squad after missing United's last six matches.

In terms of injuries, Derby have a relatively clean bill of health tonight. Will Hughes remains absent with anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered on the opening day of the season against Bolton, while fellow long-term absentees Max Lowe and Craig Forsyth are still out with serious knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

The former has yet to make his first-team debut for the club, but had been in around the senior squad since former Real Madrid assistant Clement succeeded Steve McClaren as manager in June 2015.

As for United, Van Gaal has made two alterations following that narrow loss to Southampton that saw the Premier League giants register just a single shot on target throughout a dreadful 90 minutes.

22-year-old Uruguayan right-back Guillermo Varela, who has been linked with a move to Serie A outfit Genoa in recent days, replaces Matteo Darmian and Juan Mata comes in for compatriot Ander Herrera, who is on the bench.

Rams boss Paul Clement has resisted the urge to make any changes to the team beaten 4-1 by Championship promotion rivals Burnley on Monday.

Full-back Marcus Olsson, signed on a three-and-a-half year deal from Blackburn last week, is not cup-tied so does feature among the home substitutes.

Manchester United: De Gea, Varela, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Fellaini, Schneiderlin, Mata, Lingard, Martial, Rooney (C)

Substitutes: Romero, McNair, Carrick, Herrera, Januzaj, Pereira, Memphis

Derby: Carson, Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Warnock (C), Johnson, Butterfield, Thorne, Ince, Blackman, Martin

Substitutes: Grant, Bryson, Hendrick, Russell, Baird, Camara, Olsson

Team news from both camps is expected to arrive very shortly...

Tonight's match already feels like an important moment in Louis van Gaal's Manchester United career. With his team being dubbed by some as the worst attacking side seen at Old Trafford for decades, rumours suggested that he offered to resign after Charlie Austin's debut goal condemned them to an insipid 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton last weekend.

Although those claims were angrily denied at a press conference held yesterday, another loss to lower-league opposition here would surely spell the end of the Dutchman's increasingly unpopular tenure.

Good evening and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of this opening FA Cup fourth-round clash between Derby County and Manchester United at the iPro Stadium.

Kick-off tonight is at the slightly odd time of 19.55 GMT, so stay tuned for a match preview in addition to breaking team news and confirmed line-ups. We will also have live updates for you throughout the evening...