EPL Preview: Manchester United Vs West Ham United

Manchester United host West Ham United at Old Trafford on Saturday.

At first sight, this appears likely to be a one-sided contest, but Sir Alex would be wary of complacency.

Complacency was United’s undoing against Fulham after their Premiership opener against Newcastle that United won, 3-0.

That game ended in a 2-2 draw after the Old Trafford side dominated’ for the most part.

Considering that Manchester United lost the Premiership to Chelsea by a single point, last season, you wouldn’t blame Fergie for fuming at his squad’s showing against the Cottagers.

But history is on the side of the Red Devils. West Ham have a poor record at Old Trafford.

The Hammers have failed to strike, thus far, in the Premiership, thrashed by Aston Villa and Bolton, in their first two matches.

Sir Alex’s squad would be keen to get prolific with their goal scoring, especially, seeing that Chelsea and Arsenal are getting on with it.

The Old Trafford side would be ruing the failure to close out the match against Fulham, last week.

Especially the missed penalty by Nani, with three minutes of regulation time left.

It’s déjà vu, taking us back to last’ season’s missed penalty,at Burnley, by Carrick.

United never got over that particular miss, and it came back them to haunt them as Chelsea pipped them at the Premiership post.

At Craven Cottage, Fulham used the burly Zamora to deter Johnny Evans, while Kochesky ensured that Valencia didn’t fly.

United’s defence was a decidedly weak area; in attack, Berbatov’s finishing did scant justice to his ability to get into striking positions.

Berbatov’s value to the side is invaluable, not least for his brilliant assists, such as the one that made Scholes’ 150th goal possible, in the Fulham game.

Scholes, who has been the Old Trafford squad’s most impressive player at 35 years, is likely to sit out. Carrick or Giggs might replace him.

Carrick, especially, would surely look forward to having a go at his former side.

Rooney is set to return after a stomach ailment, and will savour the opportunity of scoring his first goal for 5 months, egged on by vociferous home fans.

West Ham have had a poor start to the season, scoring a single goal while conceding six, in their first two matches.

Avram Grant, taking over as manager from Gianfranco Zola, was seen as a breath of fresh air, at the start of the season.

The squad have a dearth of quality, and Grant has roped in Pablo Barrera, Frederic Piquionne, Thomas Hitzlsperger, and Tal Ben-Haim, the last player on loan from Portsmouth.

But with Chelsea, their rivals in the next game after the match against the Red Devils, the Upton Park squad are unlikely to move up from the bottom of the league table, any time soon.

Chronically injury-hit central defender Daniel Gabbison, and an out-of-form Matthew Upson are symptomatic of West Ham’s main problem, this season: a weak defence.

The Hammers will be looking to midfielder Scott Parker to lead, after having thwarted Spurs’ bid to snare Parker.

Alessandro Diamanti is no longer with the squad, having been bought by Brescia.

Mark Noble, Radoslav Kovac and Valon Behrami are all useful as holding midfielders or in defence.

In the flanks, Kieron Dyer and Paulo Barrera have undoubted flair, and West Ham could also opt for more all-round attacking skill of Piquionne.

Carlton Cole could be key to West Ham’s scoring potential, this season, but with injury dogging the England international, in the past year, the striker could take a month or two, getting to prime form.

Also, the Hammers might find it hard to keep Liverpool from poaching the talented forward.

Prediction: West Ham will have their task cut out to keep the Red Devils’ scoring machine at bay.

Tags: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Berbatov, Bolton, Chelsea, England, EPL, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, Prediction, Preview, Rooney, Valencia

Category: EPL, Football