As it has been a disgusting trend during most of the season, once again Manchester United failed to secure easy points against an inferior opponent. This past Friday, The Red Devils lost 1-0 against Brighton so they only have two games left in the competition – against West Ham United and Watford – to try and secure the second place in the standings.
Team News
The Red Devils won’t have Romelu Lukaku for the second straight week, as the Belgian continues sidelined with a muscular problem and Mourinho confirmed he won’t even play in the season finale against Watford this weekend. Marouane Fellaini remains sidelined as well, as the Belgian is also dealing with a minor knock. The towering midfielder won’t be available Thursday, but could return against Watford. Two players that will return are Alexis Sanchez and Phil Jones, as both missed last week’s contest against Brighton.
On the other hand, former Reds manager David Moyes has a big injury list on his side. Former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez (knee), Michail Antonio and James Collins (both hamstring), Winston Reid and Pedro Obiang (both knee-ligament damage) and Sam Byram (ankle) are all unavailable ahead of this game. Meanwhile, Joe Hart (illness) and Marko Arnautovic (knock) could feature, but both are listed as game-time decisions.
Form Guide
Manchester United are finishing the season on a strong note after winning six of the last eight games across all competitions, but their losses have comes against two bottom-table sides such as West Brom and Brighton. With only three games left in the season – two in the PL and the FA Cup final – there is no question United will try to end the season on the best way possible. They have a tight grip in the second place of the standings thanks to Liverpool’s defeat against Chelsea last week, and only need one more point in their last two fixtures to secure a finish behind Manchester City. That sounds like an improvement based on how the team ended last season.
On the other hand, West Ham are coming off a decent 2-0 win over Leicester the last time out, but they also suffered back-to-back 4-1 losses against Arsenal and Manchester City prior to that. The Hammers have struggled overall, though, as that win against Leicester was their lone positive result in the last five games since defeating Southampton at the end of March… and that win against the Saints has been their lone home victory in their past four. Maybe that’s why they still sit in 15th place in the standings and are yet to secure their place in the Premier League ahead of the next season.
What happened the last time these two sides met?
Manchester United won the prior PL meeting this season (4.0) in the opening week of the season. The win came thanks to goals from Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, and a brace from Lukaku. The all-time head-to-head record against West Ham in the Premier League era shows positive results for United, as they have won 27 of the previous 43 meetings, drawing 11 and losing five. The all-time record shows 65 wins, 30 draws and 43 losses in 138 matches.
Prediction
Manchester United have been on top form despite a few bumps in the road and they are looking to get into the best shape possible for the FA Cup final. We must note that the team has always responded from a loss with a win. As such, The Red Devils shouldn’t have problems to secure the three points here. And in the process, they will extend West Ham’s uncertainity for a few more days.
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