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Manchester United will face West Ham this Saturday afternoon, aiming to pull themselves closer to the top four in the Premier League.
The Mancunian side have a mixed record versus the Hammers with three wins in six games at the London stadium, including a 1-0 loss last time out when Saïd Benrahma scored the only goal of the contest.
West Ham sit ninth in the table, one point behind the Red Devils. They score and concede more than the Old Trafford side as they have found the back of the net 29 times (11 more times than United) but they have conceded 30 goals in 17 games. This is in comparison to the 21 the Red Devils have let in.
The Hammers usually line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and play in a relatively low block formation, which is typical of a David Moyes side. The team has a transitional style and aim to win possession and attack quickly with direct passing to advance up the pitch.
Here are three ways to ensure the right United take away the early Christmas present of three points this weekend.
Give away as few set pieces as possible
There are two reasons why Manchester United need to be careful about this. One huge problem is James Ward-Prowse. The 29 year old is an incredible free kick taker. In fact, he sits second on the all-time list of Premier League goal scorers from free kicks, one behind David Beckham with 17 goals.
Not only is the player a real threat from direct free kicks but also indirect ones. The Englishman has great consistency when delivering corners into the box and if you give him enough chances, he will punish you.
Another reason is the aerial threat of Tomáš Souček. The midfielder has scored seven headed goals in the Premier League and will be licking his lips at the prospect of getting on the end of a Ward-Prowse delivery. Moreover, defending set pieces is usually challenging enough for the Red Devils so the Czech player will need to be dealt with by Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans or Scott McTominay if he plays.
Stop Mohammed Kudus
The Ghanaian’s qualities will be well known to Erik ten Hag, as he was signed by the United coach during their time at Ajax. The attacker has adapted to life very quickly in England and scored nine goals already in 21 games, considerably more than any United player this season.
The Mancunian side were frequently linked to the player in the summer, so many fans will question why Ten Hag didn’t see fit to bring in his former player to ease United’s attacking woes instead of Mason Mount.
The Ghana international was in scintillating form last weekend scoring two goals versus Wolves and will look to continue his rich vein of form against the Red Devils. The player is a versatile attacker who can hurt oppositions from central or wide positions. United’s defence will have their work cut out.
Bruno Fernandes needs to find space versus Edson Álvarez
The final tactical point involves another of Ten Hag’s former players. Alvarez is a key component of West Ham’s shape as he is often the only defensive midfielder when Soucek and Ward-Prowse play with him. The Mexican is charged with dropping back and helping his full backs when teams attack.
If United are to find joy, they will need their captain, Bruno Fernandes, to regularly find and exploit pockets of space in and around the former Ajax midfielder.
For the Portuguese international’s part, he is yet to score against West Ham in ten games, so he will be eager to correct that this weekend.
If Ten Hag’s men are able to handle these three aspects of the game, the probability of an early Christmas gift is much higher.