West Ham vs Manchester United – Match Preview
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It is fair to say that West Ham are going through something of a resurgence now after a particularly shaky start to the season. After four straight defeats it looked as if the writing could have been on the wall for new manager Manuel Pellegrini.
However, it looks as if the Hammers have finally turned the corner after picking up four points from their last two outings. A win against Everton was much needed, and they delivered exactly that at Goodison Park almost a fortnight ago.
Not only did it get the East London outfit off the mark and give the Manuel Pellegrini a bit of breathing space in terms of his employment status, it was almost a necessity with the two fixtures that were to follow.
And it seems that after getting the shackles removed against Everton, the confidence was back as they managed to hold high flying Chelsea to a goalless draw in front of their own fans last Sunday afternoon.
With that hurdle cleared the focus now shifts to the visit of Manchester United, who have had another week to forget. After a home draw against newly promoted Wolves in Premier League gave them little to write home about, things then got a lot worse in midweek.
That was because they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by a Derby County side that has Frank Lampard at the helm, a result that saw the apprentice get the once over his former Chelsea managerial master.
In the grand scheme of things, the defeat to Derby is going to have little effect in the overall outcome of Manchester United’s season, as it’s bottom of their list of priorities for this season. At the same time though it could have been the most likely chance of winning a trophy.
Especially when you consider that they already find themselves eight points league leaders Liverpool after six weeks of the season. Now obviously there is still a lot of matches still to be played and it is too early to declare who the champions will be.
At the same time though, the way United are playing at present seems it almost impossible that they will be able to mount a title challenge. It is almost as if their focus will be on the race for fourth place with the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal.
Should Jose Mourinho not be able to get the better of the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Unai Emery it could well mean that he is shown the Old Trafford exit door come the end of the season, something that his players may secretly celebrate.
It looks as if no-one at the club wants to play for the ‘Special One’ anymore with a litany of top stars currently misfiring, you only have to look at Alexis Sanchez to see what a shell of the former player he has become.
In the past he has a lot of joy at this ground, although those were in Arsenal colours and of a different time. West Ham may be able to breathe a little easier this time though as they manage to earn a respectable point in front of their own fans.
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