Manchester United will clash heads with West Ham United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, hoping to start their Carabao Cup campaign with a victory. The Red Devils will be coming into the contest on the back of a thrilling 2-1 win over the same opposition.
Team News
Speaking on Sunday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that he would opt for rotation in midweek to manage the hectic workload. Besides revealing that Jesse Lingard will start the tie, the Norwegian coach has hinted about the potential involvement of Edinson Cavani, Alex Telles, and Anthony Elanga.
“He was disappointed not to travel down to West Ham [for Sunday’s Premier League game], but he scored for the Under-23s, and now he’s ready. He’ll be involved in the squad.” – Solskjaer said.
“Alex has worked well and will be in the squad as well,”
“We know it’s early on in the season, and some players need minutes to get their proper fitness up, so I will make a few changes.”
Flipping over to the visitors, Michail Antonio will be available for selection after he was suspended for Saturday’s 2-1 defeat. Besides, 34-year-old Mark Noble might be handed over a rare start as he’ll be looking to make up for his penalty miss last weekend.
Talking Tactics
Both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and David Moyes are likely to opt for their usual 4-2-3-1 formation with plenty of tweaks from the last match.
West Ham United dominated the midfield proceedings on Sunday as the double-pivot consisting of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek completely outclassed Scott McTominay and Fred at the centre of the park. This time around, Solskjaer would be looking to utilise the home advantage and impart more defensive solidity in midfield to stop the away side’s swift counter-attacking moves against the run of play.
It’s highly unlikely that 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo will start for the fourth time in ten days, so any sort of wastefulness in the final third might turn out to be too fatal at the end of the day.
Harry Maguire has made several silly errors at the back over the last five game-weeks, and given Michail Antonio’s form in front of the goal, he’ll surely get his name on the scoresheet if those mistakes are repeated on Wednesday. Hence, the concentration at the back will be of utmost importance for the skipper.
Predicted Line-ups
Manchester United predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Heaton; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka; McTominay, van de Beek; Fernandes, Sancho, Lingard; Cavani.
West Ham predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Areola; Fredericks, Dawson, Diop, Masuaku; Noble, Kral; Vlasic, Lanzini, Fornals; Antonio.
Prediction
Manchester United 3-1 West Ham United.
