On Sky
After two defeats in our opening two fixtures of this season, against Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United will be hoping that respite is at hand in the shape of a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United and the chance of pulling off a shock and returning to East London with something to show for our efforts. A hard task I know!
Vital Quotes:
After such a poor start, the worst in our Premier League history, the inference is that we`re a team with mental problems with Avram Grant having reportedly remarked,
“This team carried a lot of psychology problems. When everything goes well we are okay, when it does not we area bit nervous.”
I`m not sure how shot the nerves will be after a visit to Old Trafford then!
United Team News:
Sir Alex Ferguson will still be smarting over dropping two points, late on, at Craven Cottage last week and will be looking to sweep us aside as he continues to press for Premier League glory.
He`s currently unable to call upon the services of the injured Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Anderson but has a squad packed with talent.
The red Devils made two major summer signings in the form of Chris Smalling (Fulham) and Javier Hernandez (Chivas of Mexico) but both are unlikely to start.
Wayne Rooney missed the fixture at Fulham after going down with a virus but will be looking to get an instant recall as he seeks to end a goal drought that stretches back to March.
Player to watch: Paul Scholes
Currently defying father-time and producing some fantastic displays which have stoked the fires for an international recall. Let`s see who comes out on top if it turns into a physical battle with our Scott!
West Ham Team News:
Avram Grant takes his squad to Old Trafford still looking for a first Premier League win of the season.
He`ll do so without the injured quartet of Collison, Hines, Kurucz and Hitzlsperger.
However, it is expected that Matthew Upson will return after laving the field with a broken nose, against Bolton, last Saturday.
The suspicions amongst our media friends are that Avram will adopt a cautions approach and pack the midfield with five players, recalling Kovacs and resting Piquionne.
It`ll be interesting to see if our sixth signing of the summer, Victor Obinna, plays any part in proceedings.
Player to watch: Scott Parker
If selected, or if he`s still our player with so much transfer speculation going on, Scott will be making his 250 league start. It`ll certainly be interesting to see how Scott performs in an area of the park where United are so strong, especially the in-form Paul Scholes.
Match Facts & Stats
Old Trafford is a venue that we`ve not had much luck at in recent years. In the last fifteen visits to the Theatre of Dreams we`ve won just twice – December 2001 and May 2007.
United seem to like playing us because in the last five games against us they`ve notched 14 goals to our 1!
If we do shock everybody and win it`ll be our first win away from home since we won at Wolves on the opening day of last season, or 19 matches!
Ref Watch:
Our referee for the fixture will be Mark Clattenburg who will be ably assisted by (we hope) Adam Watts and Martin Yerby with Michael Jones appointed as the fourth official.
Match Prediction:
Would they cart me away to the funny-farm if I were to suggest that West Ham United were going to win at Old Trafford? Probably is the answer. Our start to the season hasn`t filled me with optimism as we approach this trip; we even laboured against League Two side, Oxford, in the Carling Cup. But you have to have hope don`t you, otherwise you might just as well throw the towel in, just like Mick McCarthy did when Wolves ventured to Old Trafford last season. Fortune favours the brave so if we can frustrate United then we may be able to hang onto a point but that`s as good as it gets in my opinion. 1-1 or 0-0 is what I`m hoping for but I do, secretly, fear the worst.
Next Fixtures:
After facing the side that came second in the Premier League last season, it`s our turn to welcome the current champions, Chelsea, to Upton Park next weekend.
