Manchester United will face West Ham United at home tomorrow as they look to get going in the League. Manchester United delivered yet another convincing performance when the chips were down. United faced Feyenoord in a must-win match to keep their Europa League advancement chances still alive and although on paper it was a complete mismatch, there was uncertainty in the United camp owing to their inconsistent form this season. But a dominant performance saw the Red Devils come out as 4-0 winners and they will look to take the momentum and confidence into the weekend fixture against the Hammers.
Not much has gone right for the Hammers this season and Slaven Bilic will know that their ascent up the table has to start sooner rather than later, as a few more weeks in the mire at the bottom will see the Hammers have a serious fear of the drop.
Although it might seem to be an easy fixture taking the factors into consideration, United will be aware of the unpredictable nature of the Hammers. They have the physicality, they have the quality and they have the drive.
TEAM NEWS
MANCHESTER UNITED
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to return for Manchester United after missing the Arsenal game with a suspension.
Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan could also start after impressing against Feyenoord, but Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling remain injured.
WEST HAM UNITED
West Ham captain Mark Noble is available after serving a ban but defender Winston Reid misses out because of his red card at Tottenham.
Pedro Obiang is expected to be fit despite an ankle injury.
MANAGER SPEAK
JOSE MOURINHO (ON HENRIKH MKHITARYAN)
“He just needs now to try to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League.
“The Premier League is different. He needs one more step. Obviously now confidence levels are higher.
“This performance gives him the right to believe that he can play the next match again and he needs to replicate this kind of performance in the Premier League, with more physicality, more aggression.
“We know that we were buying a player with a high level of technical quality, very intelligent, very bright, the way he reads the game.”
SLAVEN BILIC (ON HIS FEAR OF A SACK)
“I speak to the owners, mostly Mr Sullivan, regularly after every game and in between if something needs talking about.
“I feel supported…I’m not fearful. I feel pressure, of course, because we are not producing, we’re not delivering and we don’t have enough points to feel happy and to feel safe.
“But I see the improvement. Against Spurs I saw a team hungry and alive, the points were there for us in a difficult away game, so that’s what I’m confident about.”
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1)
De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw; Herrera, Pogba; Mkhitaryan, Mata, Rooney; Ibrahimovic
WEST HAM UNITED (3-4-3)
Randolph; Ogbonna, Collins, Kouyate; Creswell, Noble, Obiang, Antonio; Payet, Sakho, Lanzini
BETTING ODDS
MANCHESTER UNITED- 9/20
DRAW- 15/4
WEST HAM UNITED- 13/2
