For the third time this season, after contrasting fortunes in the previous two encounters, United take on West Ham on Saturday afternoon. All the way back in September, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side took on David Moyes' men twice only three days apart. Sunday's Premier League fixture was host to a dramatic climax, with Jesse Lingard scoring late on his return to the London Stadium before David de Gea denied a last-gasp Mark Noble penalty. Come Wednesday, and a Manuel Lanzini goal was the difference as West Ham felled a much-changed United side at their first hurdle in the Carabao Cup.
Saturday afternoon's fixture marks the 52nd Premier League meeting between the two sides, with West Ham previously only victors on seven occasions. Of the 25 played at Old Trafford, United have come out on top 20 times, unbeaten since May 2007. West Ham have failed to score more than once in any competition away from home against United for 35 matches, stemming back to August 1986.
For just the fifth time in Premier League history, West Ham sit above United heading into a meeting. As it stands, Moyes' side are fourth in the standings. Not to take away from another impressive campaign in and around the European places, but Tottenham (one point behind) and Arsenal (two points behind) do have three and two games in hand respectively. Moreover, a win for United on Saturday afternoon would see Ralf Rangnick's side leapfrog the Hammers with a game in hand too. Failure to win on Moyes' behalf would see him draw level with Harry Redknapp on 15 Premier League away visits to Old Trafford as a manager without winning.
Following on from beating Liverpool early in November, West Ham only won four of their subsequent 11 league matches. However, form has been regained of late, with four consecutive wins - including against Leeds in the FA Cup - coming prior to defeat against the Yorkshire outfit in the league last weekend. Victory against Chelsea in early December was the only win through a run of seven league matches.
After disappointment against Aston Villa last weekend, imploding from 2-0 up to only take a solitary point, United won their first of two games in hand against Brentford after a convincing second half showing. Beating West Ham would see Rangnick win successive matches for the first time since taking interim charge at United.
West Ham are set to be without Angelo Ogbonna and Mark Noble due to knee injuries. Kurt Zouma and Tomas Soucek both missed West Ham's weekend defeat to Leeds but could return, whilst Said Benrahma has a slim chance of inclusion after his Algeria side exited the African Cup of Nations.
United, with less recovery time due to their midweek exploits, could be bolstered by some returnees. Lingard "should be available", whilst Edinson Cavani trained for the first time since his muscular issue on Friday - a final decision was to be made after the session. Scott McTominay sustained a blow to his back at the climax of an industrious showing against Brentford, but has also been tipped to be available.
Speaking on Friday, Rangnick also confirmed, "Cristiano is a question mark because he has a problem with his neck. He received treatment yesterday for two-three hours and we will have to wait to see how he feels today."
The manager also said, "Jadon didn't train because he still asked to be able to not train. He attended the funeral on Wednesday. It's still affected him quite a lot. He's expected back today at three o'clock. Right now, I'm not sure if he will be available because it was an important member of the family, someone he was close to all his life. We've got to wait and see."
Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Paul Pogba remain absent, even though the latter is back in training after his lengthy absence. Victor Lindelof is also a confirmed absentee, with the defender staying with his family following an incident that occurred during the Brentford game on Wednesday.
A club statement read, "We can confirm that a break-in occurred at Victor Lindelof’s house during the away game against Brentford. His family, who were at home at the time, were unhurt but clearly shaken. This was a distressing experience for them, and for Victor when he learned of it after the game, and the club is providing them with our full support. We encourage anyone with information about the crime to contact the police."
Rangnick added, "I spoke with him at length on our flight back home from London and also this morning. We spoke for 20 or 25 minutes, he told me what actually happened, that this was a traumatic event, especially for his wife and three-year-old son. He said to me right now he needs to stay at home, he doesn't want to leave his wife and family on their own, which I can fully understand being a father of two children myself. We agreed he will not be on duty tomorrow for the game."
Harry Maguire will start as captain, confirmed the manager: "He is back to full fitness. I explained to him that I didn’t want to change anything [against Brentford] because I thought Victor and Rapha’s partnership was doing well. Now with Victor being out, Harry will play from the beginning and again be the captain of the team."
Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot are also guaranteed starts. "So far, with the development since I’m here of Diogo and Alex Telles I am happy," Rangnick said. "They get more game time right now because Luke is injured and Aaron is still ill. So yeah I’m happy to have those two players available. Offensively both of them have their assets and their strengths, but defensively there is still some space for improvement."
"Of course it would be helpful if we knew we were going to play Champions League football next season," Rangnick rallied during his press conference. "Not only to attract new players we would like here, but also to help aid the existing squad too. Everyone would like to play in the Champions League, but everyone also knows there are only two pathways to gain qualification. Either we finish in the top four in the Premier League, and this is not easy to achieve, but also, this season, there is still a lot of competition for at least that final fourth spot. The other way is to win the Champions League yourself. We all know both is not easy but it is more realistic and we are more able to plan or to develop to finish in the top four in the Premier League. This is what I told the boys before the game against Brentford."
Comments