Midweek action sees the focus shift to the EFL Cup quarter-finals as Manchester United prepare to host West Ham United for the second time in four days.
A place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup will be on the line when a frustrated Manchester United host East London outfit West Ham United on Wednesday. The Red Devils qualified for the last eight after knocking out city rivals Manchester City 1-0 in the previous round, with Juan Mata scoring the only goal of the match. West Ham, meanwhile, overcame fellow Londoners Chelsea 2-1 in a hotly contested game at the London Stadium to set up the match at the Theatre of Dreams.
Wednesday night’s meeting comes in the wake of the exasperating result at Old Trafford on Sunday when the Hammers managed to hold Jose Mourinho’s side to a 1-1 draw. The stalemate meant that Manchester United have now won just one league match in the last two months, and lost further ground on their Top 4 rivals.
United and their visitors, though, must put Sunday’s result in the past and quickly look to turn their attention towards the cup competition, where a win will get them one step closer to a finals date in Wembley. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the fixture.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester United
The draw on Sunday meant that Manchester United have gone off to their worst ever start to a league campaign since the Premier League’s inception. It also meant that the Red Devils have gone on a four game winless run for the first time since 1980.
Wednesday’s league cup encounter provides Jose Mourinho’s men the opportunity to quickly move on from the weekend’s disappointment, and there’s good news coming the Portuguese’s way with regard to the team news. Eric Bailly on Monday trained for the first time since suffering a knee injury in the 4-0 loss to Chelsea last month. But the Ivorian is still unavailable as he is still some way off regaining match fitness.
Michael Carrick, too, returned to training on Monday and could be in line to return to the starting lineup after missing the match on Sunday, possibly partnering Ander Herrera in the centre of the park. Fellow midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini, however, are suspended and will miss the match on Thursday. Chris Smalling, meanwhile, is the only name on the injury list, sidelined with his mysterious toe injury.
Club captain Wayne Rooney and Armenia captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan are primed to start the match after being left on the bench on the weekend. Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial are likely to return too, having not been included in the matchday squad on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw; Herrera, Carrick; Mkhitaryan, Rooney, Martial; Ibrahimovic
West Ham United
The draw on Sunday didn’t do much to improve their position in the league as West Ham still sit perilously close to the relegation zone. But Slaven Bilic is sure to be boosted by the resilient display of his men heading into the midweek clash.
Darren Randolph was exceptional in goal for West Ham on the weekend, thwarting Zlatan Ibrahimovic and co on multiple occasions to earn a valuable point for his side. He will be required to withstand the pressure once again on Wednesday, as Manchester United look keen to put the frustrations of the weekend behind them with a strong showing.
On the team news front, Sunday’s goalscorer Diafra Sakho is an injury doubt after being substituted with a calf problem in the second half. With Andy Carroll still sidelined with a knee injury and Simone Zaza failing to impress the West Ham boss thus far, Andre Ayew could get a chance to lead the line.
Meanwhile, Winston Reid will return to the starting XI after missing the league match against Manchester United due to suspension. He will slot in alongside Angelo Ogbonna and Cheikhou Kouyate in the three man defence.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Randolph; Kouyate, Reid, Ogbonna; Antonio, Obiang, Noble, Cresswell; Lanzini, Ayew, Payet
Key Stats:
- West Ham haven’t won at Old Trafford since 2007 when Carlos Tevez inspired the Hammers to a 1-0 victory over the Red Devils.
- West Ham are looking to reach the League Cup semi-final for the 10th time in their history, and the first time since 2013/14.
- Manchester United have lost only one of their last 24 home League Cup games against fellow top-flight sides (W22 D1), with the solitary loss coming against Chelsea (1-2) in January 2005.
- Anthony Martial has scored with all three of his shots on target for Manchester United against West Ham in all competitions.
- Wayne Rooney has been directly involved in 14 goals in his last 14 appearances against West Ham in all competitions (11 goals, three assists). The Manchester United captain needs just one goal to match Sir Bobby Charlton’s record tally of 249 goals for Manchester United.
Prediction:
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
Manchester United were frustratingly denied by the heroics of Darren Randolph and his defence on Sunday night, and will be in no mood for a repeat of the same when they host West Ham again on Wednesday. With nothing but a win required to turn the mood at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho will need Wayne Rooney, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be more clinical in front of goal.
West Ham, on the other hand, will again look to deny their hosts, setting up defensively and looking to catch Manchester United’s high line on counters. With Dimitri Payet being so relentless with chance creation, Phil Jones and Daley Blind will need to be at their best so as to not be caught off guard.
A win for Manchester United looks likely, though, with Jose Mourinho’s side looking strong in home cup competition matches this season. We predict a hard fought win for the Red Devils.
