Last night was a total disaster for Manchester United as a UEFA Champions League campaign that began with such hope and promise is now on the brink. United won convincingly at Paris Saint-Germain to begin the UCL group stages, setting themselves up, initially, for a great chance of going through to the knockout stages.
With yesterday’s disappointing loss at home to PSG, United now need a result in their last game, a tricky fixture at RB Leipzig, in order to go through. There isn’t much time to lick their wounds however, as a tough trip to West Ham beckons on Saturday.
West Ham United vs Manchester United FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, Dec 5, 5:30pm, London Stadium
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Premier League Form Guide United WWWLD West Ham WWWLD
Table Position: United 9th, 16 points West Ham 5th, 17 pts
Odds: United win +150 Draw +245 West Ham win +205
TV: NBCSN
Blame can be spread around for yesterday’s debacle, but first and foremost, it falls on the manager. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blundered badly when he did not see the Fred red card coming, and failed to sub him off. This gaffe is made all the more irritating when you consider just how many healthy midfielders OGS had at his disposal.
That’s going to be the most interesting part here of how Solskjaer shapes his side- the midfield men. Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek continue to not be used a ton, while both Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata were rested entirely.
Expect to the see a 4-3-3 with Bruno Fernandes, a midfielder by designation pushed forward into attack. Now comes a major test for Solskjaer, and he answer the critics who want him removed. Let’s see if/how can rally the troops to a rapid response.
“It all happened quickly,” said team captain Harry Maguire.
“You know, football is a game of fine margins. You have got to take your chances and don’t give them goals, soft goals. Like I said, the goals we conceded tonight, the first two, are scrappy goals.
“It’s not that they opened us up with the talent that they’ve got in their team, we know the talent they’ve got in their team, so I felt, on a whole, we deserved something from the game. It’s disappointing but we have got to pick ourselves up, we have got a big game on Saturday.”
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction at West Ham United
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles; Matic, Pogba, Van de Beek; Fernandes, Martial, Cavani
Prediction: West Ham 0, United 0
Crunching the numbers, you gotta pick a stalemate. This could be a grindy, gritty affair, and it may lack in entertainment value.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.