Manchester United will take a break from Premier League action as we take on West Ham United in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Tuesday evening. The winners of this match will progress to the quarter-final stages of the competition. The Red Devils came through previous rounds by beating Watford and Liverpool respectively.
United looked like they were going to secure all three points in the Premier League on Saturday evening against Everton. Leading at half time by 2-0 thanks to goals from Edinson Cavani and a beautiful strike from Bruno Fernandes. The Toffees hit back in the second half and had levelled the scores at 2-2. Scott McTominay restored our lead in the 70th minute.
However, United could not hold on for those last few moments of the game as Dominic Calvert-Lewin stabbed home their equaliser in the 95th minute. We are currently second in the table, five points off Manchester City, who still has a game in hand of us.
Focus Turns To The FA Cup
The attention now turns towards the FA Cup where we had beaten Watford in the third round. We then overcame rivals Liverpool 3-2 at Old Trafford the following round. United is the second most successful team in the competition behind Arsenal as we have lifted the famous trophy 12 times. Our last triumph in the competition was back in 2016 when we beat Crystal Palace in extra-time thanks to a Jesse Lingard strike.
The Red Devils reached the semi-final stages of the competition last season before being outwitted by Chelsea who claimed a 3-1 victory. United are entering a busy period of fixtures as we take on West Bromwich Albion in the league at the weekend. We then take on Real Sociedad over two legs in the UEFA Europa League Round 32. In between those games, we have a clash against Newcastle United at Old Trafford.
Opposition Preview
West Ham arrives into this game after being in a 0-0 draw against Fulham in the league at the weekend. Either side failed to create chances for themselves but the main talking point of the game was the sending off of Thomas Soucek. He was shown a red card following an altercation with Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Soucek appeared to have accidentally raised his arm, which had hit Mitrovic in the face. VAR was consulted and had advised referee Mike Dean to take a second look. He deliberated over it before producing the red card. West Ham has since appealed and won it meaning he will be available for the game at Old Trafford.
The Hammers had a good season so far and currently sit fifth in the table. Though this might have changed by the time they come to Sheffield United on February 15th.
West Ham did not look convincing in their third round FA Cup tie against Stockport County as they only won by 1-0. They did triumph in the last round by beating Doncaster Rovers 4-0. West Ham has won the FA Cup on three separate occasions with their last win being in 1980. They did reach the final in 2006 but were beaten by Liverpool on penalties.
Manchester United vs West Ham United Match Details
Teams: Manchester United vs West Ham United
Date: February 9th, 2020 (Tuesday)
KO Time: 19:30 GMT
Competition: FA Cup
Stadium: Old Trafford
Referee: Paul Tierney
Managers: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and David Moyes
Manchester United Team News
United will be without Phil Jones who remains on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury. Eric Bailly is a doubt after he picked up a knock before our game against Everton.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær has confirmed in an interview with MUTV that he will be out for a few weeks. He said, “It’s an injury that will take a few weeks to heal. He’s just started his recovery, working with the medical staff and we’ll get him back as soon and as safely as we can. Of course, Paul has been very important for us and we’re not going to take any risks. [So it is] A few weeks definitely.“
Solskjær is unlikely to make many changes to the side with Fred replacing the injured Pogba. Dean Henderson is expected to be in goal replacing De Gea, who had a number of errors against Everton. Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic will be pushing for a starting place on Tuesday evening but Solskjær could stick with the same side against the Toffees who perform well despite drawing the game.
Manchester United vs West Ham United Pre-Match Press Conference
During the pre-match press conference, Ole was asked how important would a trophy be for Manchester United. He said, “Well, of course a trophy is always what you’re aiming for. You want to win every single competition – FA Cup, Europa League, every game you play, the Premier League. And that’s the ultimate challenge and a test for a team: to go all the way. We’ve improved, we’ve had a plan in place, and I think the team is getting better and better. Last season’s semi-final was disappointing to lose that one of course, and you just want to go all the way ad you want to lift the trophy.”
Ole was also about our opponents West Ham ahead of the match on Tuesday evening. He said, “They’ve improved a lot, I’ve got to say. David’s got his teams well organised, as he always does with his teams. And he’s got some very good players and of course Jesse did really well for them [against Aston Villa] and I hope he’s going to make them a better team, because that means he’ll have played well.”
West Ham United Team News
For our opponents, West Ham will be without Arthur Masuaku who remained on the sidelines through injury. Thomas Soucek is available after his suspension was lifted after the club appealed the red card.
David Moyes is expected to make changes to the starting eleven that played against Fulham in the league. Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Mark Noble, Pablo Fornals, and Manuel Lanzini will be hoping to feature. Michail Antonio could be rested for this match with Andriy Yarmolenko stepping in his place. Jesse Lingard is ineligible to play as he currently on loan from United.
Form Guide
Manchester United FA Cup form: WWWLWW
Manchester United form (all competitions): WWLDWD
West Ham United FA Cup form: WLWLWW
West Ham United form (all competitions): WWWLWD
Interesting Facts
- Manchester United have progressed from their last three FA Cup ties with West Ham, with the most recent one coming in the 2015-16 quarter-final. They went on to win the FA Cup from then.
- Manchester United have won their past eight home games in the FA Cup – they last had a longer run between January 1908 and February 1912 (nine).
- Anthony Martial has been involved in nine goals in 10 appearances against West Ham in all competitions (six goals, three assists). However, he has not found the net in any of his last four against the Hammers.
Predicted Lineup
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; Rashford, Fernandes, Greenwood, and Cavani.
Prediction
West Ham will be looking to cause a few problems when they come to Old Trafford just like they did in our first league meeting earlier in the season. United are hoping to bounce after the disappointment of conceding the late equaliser against Everton at the weekend. I believe we have enough quality in our squad to get the win and advance to the quarter-finals.
Predicted Score
Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United
