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Moyes under pressure after midweek thrashing
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Man Utd boast division's joint-best away defence
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Cards could be on the agenda
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West Ham 2.767/4 suffered a 5-1 shellacking at Liverpool on Wednesday night as the Hammers exited the League Cup with little more than a whimper at Anfield. David Moyes opted to make six changes from the weekend win against Wolves, robbing the Irons of any cohesion with the result never in doubt after the visitors fell behind on Merseyside.
It took West Ham 71 minutes to muster a shot, whilst Jarrod Bowen scored with the Hammers' only effort on-target. Supporters were left frustrated as the Irons missed out on a semi-final spot having neither played their best XI, nor fielded promising youngsters to gain valuable experience with the exciting Divin Mubama remaining on the bench.
Moyes' defended his selection policy post-match, saying: "You can't play them every game. I think we have had the shortest recovery period of all the teams in the Premier League. Credit to Liverpool, they were all over us, right from the first minute. We never got a chance to breathe. But bigger picture - we are just on the back of winning seven out of nine."
Manchester United 2.6813/8 lifted the mood of crisis around manager Erik ten Hag by securing a battling point against Liverpool at Anfield last weekend. The Red Devils stopped the rot that had been spreading after a heavy home loss to Bournemouth and a tame Champions League exit by keeping their old rivals at bay, despite facing 34 shots across the encounter.
Ten Hag's side stood strong on Merseyside with experienced centre-back pairing Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans picking up plenty of credit, alongside goalkeeper Andre Onana, who made eight saves. At the opposite end, United providing a threat on the counter-attack with Rasmus Hojlund having the best opportunity but saw his shot blocked at the near post.
Speaking post-match, ten Hag admitted he was pleased with his players' response, saying: "I think the performance was very good. The gameplan went well, the players were brilliant how they stuck together and were in the fight. My only criticism would be in possession, we could hurt them more. If we scored one of the big chances we could have won this game."
Man Utd did lose Diogo Dalot in stoppage time following a dismissal for dissent and the defender will now be suspended for Saturday's showdown. However, captain Bruno Fernandes returns from a ban of his own, whilst Victor Lindelof, Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial could also be involved after returning to training from injury and illness.
West Ham have made impressive progress through the Europa League and come into Saturday's clash just one point behind Manchester United and two shy of the top-six. David Moyes' men boast an impressive W4-D1-L1 recent Premier League record and have only twice tasted defeat at the London Stadium this season in league action (W4-D2-L2).
But the Hammers have undoubtedly been hampered by the schedulers. The Irons face a very quick turnaround from their EFL Cup quarter-final clash at Liverpool on Wednesday night ahead of an early Saturday kick-off here, which should give Manchester United an advantage, especially with the visitors welcoming back a couple of key cogs.
Man Utd aren't always the most trustworthy away team to follow under Erik ten Hag, although the Red Devils arrive with the joint-best top-flight defensive record on their travels despite already facing four of the top-six. That solid base should give the fresher guests an opportunity to at least stake a claim of the spoils on Saturday afternoon.
But rather than take sides on Saturday, I prefer the opportunity to support Over 3.5 Cards and Under 3.5 Goals at [11/10] on the Bet Builder.
Only United's EPL trip to Arsenal featured four goals or more with five of eight away days featuring a maximum of two strikes. West Ham's matches have been more open affairs though the Hammers may struggle to produce their best considering the tight turnarounds.
Cards-wise, 72% of top-flight fixtures have seen Over 3.5 Cards land with the division averaging 4.96 cards per-game. Simon Hooper oversees this fixture and the referee has covered our required line in 11 of 13 league outings this season (averaging 5.54 cards). Meanwhile, West Ham average 2.59 cards with Man Utd boasting 2.41 cards per-game.
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