West Ham United and Manchester United both will be looking for a victory that could move them into the top six when they meet in Saturday’s early kickoff in London.
West Ham (8-6-3, 27 points) enters the weekend ninth in the Premier League table, but only a point back of Man U and two behind sixth-place Newcastle after picking up 13 points in the past six league games.
When it’s gone bad for manager David Moyes’ men, it’s gone very bad. See a 5-1 loss at Liverpool in the League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, as well as a 5-0 league loss at Fulham two weekends ago.
But that’s been the exception rather than the norm for the Hammers, particularly at home where they’ve lost only twice in league play.
“It says a lot about where we are at the moment and what we’re doing that you’re talking about West Ham as direct rivals to Manchester United,” Moyes said at his press conference on Thursday. “We’re fighting hard to stick with the top teams if we can. If we win it could get us into the top six or seven at the weekend, we’re just outside at the moment.”
Additionally, Moyes rotated his squad heavily in the Liverpool defeat: Attack-minded midfielders Lucas Paqueta and James Ward-Prowse came off the bench for the Hammers, while goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and defender Kurt Zouma did not play a role.
There is perhaps less optimism in the Manchester United (9-7-1, 28 points) camp as an autumn filled with rumors of unrest appears to be turning into a winter full of ailments.
Manager Erik ten Hag is dealing with a half-dozen or so high-profile injury absences.
Midfielder Christian Eriksen could be nearing his first action since mid-November, and striker Amad Diallo could be closing in on getting fit enough for his club debut, ten Hag said Friday. But key figures like Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Harry McGuire, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof aren’t expected to contribute until sometime in the new year.
Diogo Dalot will also serve a one-match ban after being sent off for his second booking in second-half stoppage time of a gutty 0-0 draw at Liverpool on Sunday.
Man U is scoreless in its past three overall, and three of its past four in the league. But taking a point at Anfield, followed by a rare midweek without a match, may provide ten Hag’s group a boost.
“It is not about one player, it is about everyone,” ten Hag said of his attack. “We need to move the ball better, the decision-making on the ball has to be better. Sometimes we also have to be more clinical. The best chance at Liverpool was ours.”
–Field Level Media