Another week of Premier League football comes too soon as fifth-placed West Ham United lock horns with Manchester United on Saturday, who are currently sitting three places above them in the league table with six more points. Undoubtedly, a win for the visitors at Old Trafford might put them in the top four temporarily. After the concession of an unlucky added time goal against AC Milan in midweek, the Norwegian coach will be aiming for nothing less than a victory to lift his team’s morale. On the other hand, West Ham will come into the game on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Leeds United last week.
Let’s look at how things are shaping up ahead of the weekend clash.
Team News
There has been no good news on the injury front for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he has been left sweating over the fitness of several key members ahead of Sunday’s home encounter.
Marcus Rashford, who picked up an ankle injury against Manchester City last week, is unlikely to be available this weekend.
“I definitely hope Marcus is back for next Thursday in Milan. I’m not sure he’ll make Sunday but, fingers crossed, as we’ll need him.” – The Norwegian coach stated.
Anthony Martial (hip injury) remains another concern.
“Anthony got a whack on his hip, so there’s another forward we need to scan and look at. Unfortunately, he got a whack on his hip quite early in the first half, so he couldn’t go on.” – Solskjaer revealed in his post-match press conference.
Furthermore, veteran striker Edinson Cavani will play no part for the Red Devils this Sunday.
“Edinson, I don’t think will be ready for Sunday, no.” – Solskjaer revealed.
In his pre-match press conference, David Moyes stated that a couple of his players have picked up slight injuries; however, he hasn’t revealed their identities yet.
“We’ve got a couple of slight doubts behind the scenes on a couple of players, who have just picked up slight injuries, which I’m hoping will be okay. I won’t know until tomorrow to see how a couple of them are going.
“That’s just something I’m nursing behind the scenes a little bit. It might be that they’re all okay, it might be that they’re not okay – that’s where it is.” – The Scottish tactician revealed.
Besides, Jesse Lingard is ineligible to face his parent club this weekend.
Talking Tactics and Key Men
West Ham United are likely to opt for the 4-2-3-1 formation on Sunday so that they can protect the defence and retain the ball in tight situations. This configuration allows them to field more defenders and gives them an upper hand in attacking terms. It provides both the wing-backs, Creswell and Coufal, with the licence to join the attack on several occasions, which is quite evident from the number of assists the former has bagged this season (7). Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are expected to partner in the middle of the park, snuffing out counter-attacks, whereas Fornals, Antonio, and Bowen are expected to form the front three.
Flipping over to the hosts, Bruno Fernandes is expected to carry most of his side’s creative and goal-scoring burdens as usual. However, the absence of key players like Rashford, Martial, and Cavani might hamper United’s attacking gameplay to a huge extent. As David Moyes’ men continue to combat counter-attacking situations throughout the ninety minutes, it’ll be essential for Solskjaer to wholly utilize the prodigious pace of Daniel James and Mason Greenwood up top, added to Bruno’s creativity.
Luke Shaw will be hoping to add to his streak of impressive performances against the Irons.
Predicted Line-ups
West Ham United predicted starting XI:
Fabianski; Cresswell, Dawson, Diop; Coufal, Rice, Soucek, Benrahma; Bowen, Antonio, Fornals.
Manchester United predicted starting XI:
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; James, Fernandes, Diallo; Greenwood.
Our Prediction
West Ham 1-2 Manchester United.
