Manchester United – West Ham: Preview & Prediction
Manchester United will be the last of the teams considered the strongest candidates for the title of the 2017/2018 version of English Premier League to step on the lawn. This Sunday, August 13, closes the first round of the Premier League facing the reworked West Ham. The match will be held at Old Tradfford, Manchester, starting at 12 noon (Brasília time).
Manchester United
Money has not been a problem for United in recent seasons. Since joining coaches frequently with Alex Fergusson’s retirement, the club has made no savings when it comes to hiring reins. More than R $ 1 billion has been invested in the last three years.
That did not make the biggest winner of Premier League titles back to take their place at the top. Conquests in recent seasons have been limited to cups. Not even the spot in the Champions League did the team reach through the English Championship. This season, will only participate in the most important competition of the Old Continent for having won the Europa League.
This helped coach Jose Mourinho, who added the 2016/2017 England League Cup title to Manchester United’s vast trophy collection, continued to dictate his rules. He dispatched veteran Wayne Rooney, who did not give in to Everton, and hired Lukaku, who was in the Liverpool blues, bidding a superior offer to Chelsea, who also played for the player.
He still wants to spend a few tens of millions of Euros to acquire the fast midfielder and striker Gareth Bale, who is at Real Madrid. However, at least for now, the negotiation remains lukewarm and the coach will have to deal with the cast he has in hand.
The results obtained in the season can be considered acceptable. United made seven friendlies. He won five, drew one and lost one. However, in the first official game of the season showed that still needs improvement. On Tuesday, August 8, he was beaten by Real Madrid, 2-1 in Macedonia, in the match that decided the UEFA Super Cup.
For the Premier League debut, Mourinho will still have to manage the absences of the injured defenders Marco Rojo and Luke Shaw and midfielder Ashley Young.
West Ham
Disappointment is the word that best qualifies the 2016/2017 season of West Ham in the Premier League. After spending a few years in the top half of the table and flirting even with the spot in the Champions League, the team collapsed. He spent part of the year fighting against relegation and with a slight improvement in the final half of the season managed to be free of the threat. However, he had to settle for a modest eleventh place by adding 45 points (12 wins, nine draws and 17 losses). They were 16 below the zone of classification for Liga Europa.
The bad campaign made the team start a renewal in full tournament. One of the liberators, after conflicts with the technical direction, was the French Payet. At the end of the dispute, the Argentine Calleri, ex-São Paulo, also entered the boat.
High-profile signings for the season brought West Ham goalkeeper John Hart. The athlete had a contract with Manchester City, but is not to the liking of coach Pepe Guardiola. Dismissed, he spent a season in Italy defending Torino before returning to England. Also bought were Marko Arnautovic of Stoke and Mexican striker Chicarito Hernandez, who defended Bayer Leverkusen of Germany.
Croatian coach Slaven Bilic won a vote of confidence from the board and remains in command. For the debut, it has four restrictions to scale the team. They are in the infirmary socks Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate and the attackers Andrew Carroll and Diafra Sakho.
In the preseason, West Ham made six friendlies. It was three draws, two defeats and only one win. This will be their second year hosting their games at the London Olympic stadium, which was singled out as one of the ‘responsible’ for the weak campaign last season. The club, which used to play in Upton Park, where it obtained its most expressive results, made the change to bill more.
History of the matches Manchester United vs West Ham
The teams had their paths crossed three times in the previous season. For the Premier League, United stayed in the 1-1 draw at home and won in London 2-0. For the League Cup at Old Tradfford, Manchester thrashed 4-1.
Manchester United – West Ham: Betting Tips
Man. Utd win – Odds: 1.45
Over 2,5 goals – Odds: 1.75
