Manchester United will be taking on West Ham United in their final away game of the 2017/18 Premier League season on Thursday night.
Manchester United will lock horns against former manager David Moyes’s West Ham United at the London Stadium in their penultimate league match of the season.
The Red Devils will be looking to bounce back from their shock 1-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion this past Friday, when they face off against the East London outfit, who have managed to secure their Premier League status for the next season, following their 2-0 win over Leicester City over the weekend.
Ahead of the game, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho revealed that soon to be out of contract midfielder Marouane Fellaini will miss out due to a muscular injury, while star striker Romelu Lukaku will also be absent as he recovers from an ankle injury.
However, there was some positive news for the Red Devils’ supporters though with the club boosted by the returns of defender Phil Jones and Alexis Sanchez for the midweek assignment.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game at the London Stadium, the Portuguese said: “In terms of injuries, it’s Lukaku and Fellaini. They are the two players who are not available for tomorrow [Thursday]. [Phil] Jones is back, Sanchez is back and there are no more problems.”
David De Gea has been named the Manchester United Player of the Year once again after another stellar season between the sticks. He will be hoping to end the season on a high and should start in goal, ahead of the fit again Sergio Romero.
With Jones fit again, he is likely to be reinstated in the starting XI for the encounter, at the expense of Marcos Rojo, with Chris Smalling expected to keep his place after a run of steady displays at the back. Antonio Valencia, who was not a part of the team on Friday night, should come in at right-back for Matteo Darmian while Ashley Young will continue to feature from the flank on the opposite side.
The manager also confirmed that club captain Michael Carrick will not be featuring on Thursday, but instead will be starting the final game of the season against Watford at the Old Trafford on Sunday. “He [Carrick] will start the last match at Old Trafford, the last match of the Premier League,” said Jose.
That would mean Nemanja Matic will once again start at the base of the midfield for the Red Devils with Paul Pogba expected to partner him, while there is a strong possibility that academy graduate Scott McTominay, who was named as the Manager’s Player of the Year by Mourinho, could get a start in the third midfield spot.
After missing out from the starting XI against Brighton, Jesse Lingard is likely to find himself as part of the team that takes the field for kick-off on Thursday. He will replace Juan Mata on the right-flank. On the left side, Alexis Sanchez is expected to come in for the ineffective Anthony Martial.
And spearheading the attack for the Mancunians once again in the absence of Lukaku, will be Marcus Rashford. The academy product did not have the best of games on Friday and will be under pressure to deliver against the Hammers.
