West Ham have been on a bit of a slide lately, and righting the ship won't be easy against Manchester United.
One of the surprising hot starts to this season, West Ham have fallen on hard times of late. They've won just one of their last six Premier League matches, and with a host of players carrying knocks and not at 100%, it's going to be a tough ask for them to beat a surging Manchester United side, even at home.
United, for their part, Manchester United will be looking to extend a two-match winning run in the league, pulling to just three points back of second place Manchester City. Considering how poorly United did a year ago, this turnaround has been truly magnificent, especially in light of some of the serious injury issues they've gone through this season.
Key player - Diafra Sakho (West Ham)
Sakho hasn't been back from African Cup of Nations for long, but he's already gotten back on the scoresheet for West Ham, scoring their lone goal in the 1-0 win over Bristol City in the FA Cup two weeks ago. Sakho's been a star for the Hammers this season, their reliable impact threat week in and week out. Now that he's had another full week to rest after Senegal's failed AFCON campaign, he should be ready to do everything he can to put United's oft-shaky defense to the sword.
Key Matchup - Alex Song (West Ham) vs. Angel Di Maria (Manchester United)
After struggling in two years with Barcelona and getting off to a slow start with West Ham, Song has been playing much better football of late. His presence shielding West Ham's back line has bailed them out of trouble on numerous occasions in the last couple of months, and his ability to help their midfield distribution has been highly beneficial as well.
He's going to have his hands full with Angel Di Maria, though, as the Argentine attacker has been playing much better football of late himself. His pace and trickery on the ball is a tough combination for a more physical midfielder like Song, and his growing comfort level with United's other attackers means that Song and West Ham's defense will have to constantly be on their toes.
West Ham United injuries and suspensions
Out: none listed In doubt: Guy Demel (knock), Cheikhou Kouyate (ankle), Winston Reid (hamstring), James Collins (hamstring), Andy Carroll (ankle), Carl Jenkinson (calf), James Tomkins (hamstring)
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Michael Carrick (calf) In doubt: none listed
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 4:15 P.M. local, 11:15 A.M. ET
Venue: Boleyn Ground, London, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), Telemundo (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.), TSN1 (Canada)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky GO (U.K.), TSN (Canada)
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1zwnNue
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