Man United v West Ham: Red Devils should stick to their Sunday approach
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After enduring more frustration in the 1-1 draw against West Ham on Sunday, Manchester United may not be too enthused to be playing the east Londoners again. But if they persevere then the Red Devils should succeed in this EFL Cup quarter-final.
Continuing the theme of their season so far, United couldn’t take their chances on Sunday, despite creating plenty.
Jose Mourinho’s men have produced 91 shots at Old Trafford in Premier League games since October 1, but have scored just three.
So the problem isn’t the football leading up to the chances, it’s what happens when they get there.
And arguably that’s a much easier dilemma to solve than not creating chances in the first place.
Mourinho should see little reason then, to make drastic changes for this quarter-final meeting with the Hammers, who haven’t won any of their last four.
United are 4/9 favourites to win in 90 minutes, and many will see value in that, despite the absences of Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini through suspension.
Both Mourinho and Slaven Bilic have played strong sides in previous rounds, so we can expect to see both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dimitri Payet on show once again.
Zlatan netted the equaliser on Sunday, and is 3/1 to score first this time around, with Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford at 4s.
But if you fancy the Hammers to repeat their theme of scoring first, Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew are each 9/1.
As is Andy Carroll, who could make a timely return for the Iron having been out since August.
If you fancy this is when United click, they’re 11/10 on the -1 handicap.
Both teams are 17/20 to find the net once again, while United are 17/2 to come from behind and draw.
But this is a game United know they should, and really must, win. Keep producing chances, and given the quality at the Theatre of Dreams, goals will surely follow sooner rather than later.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
