Next Saturday, 27th of September 2014, Manchester United will entertain a highly motivated West Ham at the emblematic Old Trafford for round six of the English Premier League on a match of vital importance for the home side due to their agonizing league start this season.

After the convincing performances during the pre-season matches, no one was certainly expecting Louis Van Gaal’s new Manchester United to experience such immense difficulties at the Premier League. No manager, not even someone with a remarkable career such as Van Gaal, is able to build a team from scratch over such a short period of time. Once again, the Red Devils have neglected their pre-season preparation and failed to bring in top quality players in time to kick off the new season. It is fair to say that the Dutch manager didn’t get the players he asked for, that is not until things started to go awry for them at the league and this is certainly not the way to conduct business at a team with Manchester United’s caliber.

Last weekend at King Power Stadium’s goal galore, the Red Devils started at full speed and by the 16th minute they were already winning 2-0. Rooney acted as an advanced playmaker behind the front duo and things seemed to be running smoothly, that is right until the penalty that allowed Leicester to score their second goal of the day. It is fair to say that United have the right to complain about the referee’s poor performance but it is also the true that the former English champions simply cannot afford to lose a match they were leading and controlling for 60 minutes.

Things have not been easy for the Dutch manager and the next match against West Ham will be of paramount importance for a team craving confidence and extra motivation.

As for West Ham, despite their usual slow start, the Hammers were granted a fantastic win over the title contenders of Liverpool last weekend, and such win should provide them some extra motivation and confidence for the upcoming matches.

West Ham caught the Reds by surprise with their powerful start and that element proved to be the key behind the match’s outcome. Sam Allardyce’s men scored twice in the first ten minutes and such brave entrance certainly bewildered an inconsistent Liverpool team.

When both sides met at Old Trafford last season, the home side won by 3-1, but this term things might be different. Although the Red Devils have to considered favourites for the match, no one knows for sure what to expect from them after all the inconsistency they have been displaying so far in the league.

Manchester United

Stats: W-1 L-2 D-2

Recent Form - LWDLD

West Ham

Stats: W-2 L-2 D-1

Recent Form - WDLLW

Possible Line-ups

Manchester United (4-4-2 Diamond) – De Gea - Rafael - Rojo  - Smalling - Shaw - Blind - Herrera - Di Maria - Rooney - Van Persie - Falcao

West Ham (4-3-1-2) - Adrian - Demel - Tomkins - Reid - Cresswell - Kouyate - Noble - Downing - Song - Sakho - Valencia

Prediction

Manchester United 2 West Ham 1