Match Preview: Manchester United vs West Ham

Manchester United vs West Ham | Carabao Cup | Old Trafford | KO 19:45 GMT | Sky Sports

Following a dramatic 2-1 victory away from home against West Ham United in the Premier League at the weekend, Manchester United return to Old Trafford on Wednesday, to face the same opposition, this time in the Carabao Cup, knowing tensions will be high, given the way the match on Sunday ended.

In the final minutes of the match, Jesse Lingard put United ahead against the side he was on loan at last season, before Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a clear penalty, and West Ham were given one of their own in the 92nd minute.

“Mr. Reliable” Mark Noble was subbed on by David Moyes to take the spot kick, which was saved by David de Gea as United went on to hold onto the 2-1 victory.

There may be a few changes in each teams’ line-ups for this one, but the hangover of the match at the London Stadium will still likely give this game a bigger edge than expected when the draw was made.

How do Manchester United look?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be expected to play a somewhat rotated side in this one, with a hectic couple of weeks on the horizon for United.

Embed from Getty Images

Matchwinner Jesse Lingard is certain to start, with Solskjaer confirming as much in his press conference.

Speaking ahead of the match, he also announced that both Alex Telles and youngster Anthony Elanga will be involved in some capacity.

“He [Elanga] was disappointed not to travel down to West Ham but he scored for the Under-23s and now he’s ready. He’ll be involved in the squad” the boss said.

“Alex [Telles] has worked well and will be in the squad as well” he added.

Elsewhere, David de Gea may be given the day off, opening up the opportunity for either Dean Henderson or Tom Heaton to make their first appearances of the season, whilst Edinson Cavani’s injury situation is currently unclear, so he may be one to look out for too.

Embed from Getty Images

The likes of Anthony Martial, Donny Van de Beek, Juan Mata, Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelöf have not featured as much as they would have liked this season and will all be in contention to play in this one.

Marcus Rashford, although back in training, is not expected to be playing again for another few weeks.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes are likely to be on the bench, available to be called upon if needed.

Opposition: West Ham United

Embed from Getty Images

The Hammers proved to be a tough test for United on Sunday, creating an end-to-end game that saw chances for both sides.

They are boosted with the return of Michail Antonio, who was suspended at the weekend, and will offer them much more of a threat, should he start at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The physical centre-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna, although they should have given away two penalties, proved tough for United to get past on Sunday, so another difficult game can be expected if they start once again.

Key Stats

Embed from Getty Images

Manchester United have reached the semi-final of the Carabao Cup in each of the last two seasons, getting beaten by eventual winners Manchester City both times; they will be hoping to go further this campaign and win it themselves, given it is Solskjaer’s first chance of winning silverware this term.