It is nearly Christmas and Manchester United have only one Premier League goal scored by an actual out and out striker. It’s a crazy statistic to ponder as the Red Devils head to West Ham United for their next league fixture. And it is not Rasmus Hojlund, the £72 million striker who has scored than lone goal either.
It’s actually the oft-injured, much maligned Anthony Martial, off all people who has that distinction.
Manchester United at West Ham United FYIs
Kick: Sat. Dec. 23, 12:30pm, London Stadium
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 38% Draw 26% Man United 36%
After Hojlund totally blew a golden scoring opportunity in the goalless draw against Liverpool, Gary Neville said:
“That’s where that composure, that little bit of class [is lacking]. Polishing that diamond that he is Hojlund. He’s got real physical strength and capacity, but he’s not a finisher, he’s similar to [Darwin] Nunez in that respect.”
Wow! Harsh! “Not a finisher,” but then again, is Neville actually wrong? Probably not, as the stats would support his claims.
Anyway, Hojlund will be in the first team for United when they travel to West Ham on Sunday for certain. Here is who we think will be joining him. Maybe they can help set him up to finally score!
Man United Starting XI Prediction at West Ham United
Andre Onana; Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Scott McTominay, Sofyan Amrabat; Bruno Fernandes, Antony, Marcus Rashford; Rasmus Hojlund
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.