Manchester United vs West Ham - Match Preview
Two of the Capital One semi-finalists get back to the business of addressing their disappointing league campaigns, following the mid week cup wins. For United and David Moyes, Saturday’s game at Old Trafford represents to ideal opportunity to banish the memory of successive home defeats to Everton and Newcastle. ForWest Ham, a trip to Old Trafford, could, as it has done for a few teams this season, offer the perfect chance to get a memorable result and move them away from the relegation dogfight.
Team News
Manchester United
Reports that Michael Carrick has returned to training will be received with collective glee – both singing and euphoria- such is the importance of the midfielder to the champions. Wayne Rooney should be back from a knock that kept him out of the wet wednesday night in Stoke although, Robin Van Persie and Marouane Fellaini are still on the injury list. Shinji Kagawa should have recovered from the overeating nonsense that’s kept him out of recent games.
West Ham
Big money signing Andy Carroll isn’t expected to be back until the new year- the question is will Sam Allardyce still be in a job by then if the Hammer’s poor form continues? Winston Reid, Stewart Downing and Ricardo Vaz Te are also expected to be on he missing list.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester United
David De Gea; Rafael, Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones, Patrice Evra; Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj; Danny Welbeck.
West Ham
Jussi Jääskeläinen; Guy Demel, James Collins, James Tomkins, George McCartney; Mark Noble, Ravel Morrison, Modibo Maiga Mohamed Diamé, Matt Jarvis; Carlton Cole.
Recent Form
Sunday’s win at Villa Park was United’s first in five attempts, but compared to West Ham who’ve won just once in nine games- a run which included five losses- David Moyes’ side are positively on fire. Big Sam can take solace in the recent cup win over Spurs which could prove something of a turning point for his struggling side.
Players to Watch
Manchester United – Danny Welbeck
With Robin Van Persie and Javier Hernandez both out last week Welbeck was givenhis chance to show what he can do leading the line and did a sterling job bagging a brace in the process. With four goals this season, he’s already quadrupled his tally from the last campaign and Reds will be hoping the Mancunian striker can prove his doubters wrong and kick on from last week’s game.
West Ham United – Ravel Morrison
The return of Ravel, who caused so many headaches for the previous managerial regime and will this time be hoping to cause them ones for different reasons. Morrison is beginning to look like the player who was tipped for greatness when he was a member of United’s academy.
Prediction
Despite neither side exactly setting the Premier League alight over the past few weeks, I can see plenty of goals in this game as Moyes needs to give the home fans something to cheer about, while Allardyce knows taking the game to United can lead to an upset lately.
Manchester United 3-2 West Ham