Manchester United will face West Ham United at Old Trafford in the Premier League this afternoon as the Red Devils play at the traditional time of 3pm. Ralf Rangnick’s side will have work ahead of them to take on the Hammers. David Moyes will be seeking to guide his side back to victory after their 3-2 defeat to Leeds United at the weekend. United drew 2-2 with Aston Villa last weekend, beating Brentford 3-1 on Wednesday evening and sit just two points behind the Hammers with a game in hand over them. The push for top four is real although the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are also pushing to break into the top four this season.
This is going to be a tough season for United, especially if they do not gather some kind of consistent form and get through their matches, especially against those teams above them and close to them in the Premier League table. Pulling away from those clubs who are close is key to breaking into and keeping a place in the top four. Whilst there are about seven or eight teams seeking to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season, nothing is going to be guaranteed. As United stepped up, albeit in the second half against Brentford and have not really been embarrassed with any big defeats since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left, there is a chance.
Manchester United:
De Gea;
Dalot, Maguire, Varane, Telles;
Fred, McTominay;
Greenwood, Fernandes, Elanga;
Ronaldo
Substitutes:
Henderson; Jones; Mata, Lingard, Matic, Van de Beek; Martial, Rashford, Cavani
West Ham United:
Areola;
Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell;
Rice, Soucek;
Bowen, Lanzini, Fornals;
Antonio
Substitutes:
Randolph; Diop, Fredericks, Masuaku, Johnson; Vlasic, Noble, Kral; Yarmolenko
United and West Ham have met a total of 52 times in the history of the Premier League. United have won 31 times, drawing 13 times with the Hammers winning the remaining seven times. United have scored 101 goals, winning five penalties and scoring four of them. The Hammers have scored 46 goals, winning four penalties, scoring three of them. United have kept a total of 19 clean sheets with the Hammers keeping seven. Discipline is not that great between these two sides with United players shown 62 yellow cards and four red cards and the Hammers players shown 72 yellow cards and two red cards.
There is a lot of history between United and the Hammers. David Moyes, the Hammers’ manager was the former manager of United during the ill-fated 2013/14 season and he was sacked before the season even finished. There have been many players to have played for both clubs, the most recent being Jesse Lingard, who spent the second half of last season at the club. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Teddy Sheringham, Javier Hernandez, Carlos Tevez, Roy Carroll, David Bellion, Jonathan Spector and Ravel Morrison have all played for both clubs and probably more in the not too distant past.
Written by John Walker
