Preview: United vs West Ham Manchester United are seeking a swift recovery in the Barclays Premier League this Saturday (kick-off 15:00 BST) as West Ham come to Old Trafford. After suffering a shock 5-3 defeat to Leicester City, Louis van Gaal will want his team to tighten up in defence and ensure that the flow of goals at the other end yields the result it merits. The Reds record signing Angel Di Maria has already made a big contribution to the attack, marking a fine start to life in England with a maiden strike against QPR and that exquisite chip against Leicester City last time out. Team News: Chris Smalling reported stiff legs in training and is sidelined with Jonny Evans who suffered a bruised bone at Leicester. Tyler Blackett is suspended after being sent off while Phil Jones, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Sam Johnstone, Jesse Lingard, James Wilson and Reece James all remain on the injured list. West Ham midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is out for six weeks with a groin problem, and Andy Carroll , Joey OBrien and captain Kevin Nolan remain unavailable. The Opposition: West Ham have made a fine start to 2014/15 and currently sit in eighth place after their 3-1 win over Liverpool last weekend. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce will hope the confidence gained from that result could prove the catalyst for another surprise win as his side aim to build on their solid opening month. The East London outfit did some good transfer business during the summer, including two loan deals to bring in Alex Song from Barcelona and Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson. In addition, permanent arrivals such as Enner Valencia and Diafro Sakho have both settled in well - the latter, signed from French club Metz, has scored three goals including an audacious chip against Liverpool. Both will be a threat to the United rearguard, as will the in- form Stewart Downing . West Ham’s last XI: Adrian; Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Kouyate, Noble, Song, Downing; Sakho, Valencia. Betting: Despite the disappointment at Leicester, the club’s official betting partner bwin have the Reds priced as firm favourites for this match at 1.36 with the draw at 5.00 and a win for visitors at 7.25 . Whatever the result, fans could be in for another high- scoring affair, so why not take a punt on there being over five goals in this game priced at 3.80 ? Last Meeting: United visited the Hammers in a March 2014 fixture most memorable for Wayne Rooney’s stunning 60- yard effort to open the scoring. Among the impressed spectators was a man who netted a similar goal at Wimbledons ground 18 years previously, David Beckham. Rooney hit the target again in the first half to seal a 2-0 win. Match Officials: Bolton-born Lee Mason will referee a United match for the first time since the afore-mentioned match against the same opponents. His assistants will be A Garratt and I Hussin with Mike Dean serving as fourth official.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 19:47:16 +0000
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