Man U vs. West Ham
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 5:30PM
After tasting defeat in four of their last five matches, Manchester United will be desperate to get back to winning ways this evening when they take on West Ham United in the Premier League.
The Red Devils’ top-four hopes are looking bleak following defeats to Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers, either side of victory over Watford, and they could do with getting three points on the board this weekend.
United have also exited the FA Cup to Wolves and trail Barcelona 1-0 following the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
That high-profile tie, settled by an unfortunate Luke Shaw own goal, was supposed to take priority for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this week, but instead the Red Devils need to focus on picking up victory against West Ham if they are to avoid being cut off in the race for a top-four finish.
With six league matches to go, United are down in sixth place, two points adrift of Arsenal and three behind Tottenham Hotspur in the final Champions League berth.
Third-placed Chelsea are five points better off, meanwhile, albeit having played a game more.
Missing out on the Champions League next season could potentially be disastrous for United, amid reports that certain big-name players face 25 per cent pay cuts, potentially forcing them – Real Madrid target Paul Pogba in particular – to seek pastures new.
This disappointing run of form has supplied ammunition to those that suggested Solskjaer was never the right man for the job, even if he did instigate an incredible turnaround in the three months after replacing Jose Mourinho in the Old Trafford dugout.
Solskjaer, handed the permanent job by executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward a fortnight ago, has a truly massive week ahead to prove those doubters wrong, starting with Saturday’s league visit of West Ham.
Two defeats in three Premier League games is as many as United had suffered in their previous 22 in the competition.
Worryingly for the Red Devils, they are winless in their last four Premier League games immediately following a European fixture, losing at Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal and drawing at Southampton.
With Man City and Chelsea the next two visitors to Old Trafford, this is close to being a must-win game for United.
If the feel-good factor brought to the club by Solskjaer is to return, they need to put on a show for their supporters this Saturday.
On the other hand, West Ham have blown hot and cold in their first season under Manuel Pellegrini, earning praise one moment and then facing criticism the next.
Three losses in their last four matches means that there has been more negatives than positives of late, with the Hammers losing ground in the race for a seventh-placed finish.
Should all go to plan and Man City lift the FA Cup next month, the side that finishes seventh in the Premier League will compete in the Europa League qualifiers next season.
That gives Pellegrini’s side something to fight for in the remaining weeks of the campaign, yet the Chilean’s players appear to have lost motivation since earning a convincing 2-0 win over Newcastle United in early March.
Man U possible XI: De Gea, Dalot, Smalling, Lindelof, Rojo, Fred, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Lukaku, Martial.
West Ham possible XI: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Cresswell, Snodgrass, Rice, Obiang, Anderson, Arnautovic, Hernandez.
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