Manchester United, coming off a very unimpressive/bizarre/just plain kind of ugly win last night at Wolves, are set to get more of their players back into their squad. Sofyan Amrabat is set to train with the squad tomorrow as his Morocco NationaI Team was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations. Central defender Victor Lindelöf is also on the mend, and likely available for selection, by manager Erik Ten Hag, on Sunday against West Ham United.
January transfer window deadline day was moribund at MUFC, with the only real news being Facundo Pellistri getting acclimated at his new home of Granada, with the deal announced the previous day.
??| OFFICIAL: Facundo Pellistri has joined Granada on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 season. pic.twitter.com/ZuVPWJrL6c
— centredevils. (@centredevils) January 31, 2024
Manchester United vs West Ham United FYIs
Kick: Sun. Feb.4, 2pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Starting XI Predictions: Man United West Ham
Team News: Man United West Ham
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: West Ham win 21% Draw 23% Man United 56%
Man United Team News
So moving beyond Amrabat and Lindelof, Pellistri didn’t fit in at United anyway. There was no future for him. Elsewhere, Mason Mount, who hasn’t played since November, remains a massively expensive, injury-riddled flop. He will be absent again here.
“He [Mount] was struggling from the second game of the season,” Ten Hag said.
“He returns for a period and then picked up another injury so that’s not great. That’s very frustrating for him and I really feel for him. I really want to be there for him. He had such high expectations and I had high expectations and I’m sure he’ll be a very good player for us but, first of all, what’s now important is that we have to do it very secure to get him fit.
Secure in the process, step by step, don’t force it and hopefully by the end of the season he can stay fit and fight his way into the team, at least play a role in his team.
Elsewhere Anthony Martial and Tyrell Malacia remain out as long-term injury absentees.
Prediction: Man United 1, West Ham 0
Despite all the good, bad and ugly yesterday, I still think United have “got this.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.