Form, psychology & history suggest Manchester United could rout West Ham

Manchester United v West Ham, Premier League, August 28, 2010

Manchester United 1.12; Draw 7.33; West Ham 19.88

The noises coming out of the West Ham camp ahead of their trip to Old Trafford are unlikely to be too reassuring to any Hammers fans travelling up to the Theatre of Dreams for the Saturday tea-time kick off.

After scoring the winning goal against Oxford in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, Scott Parker admitted he was dreading the game against Manchester United. Similarly, new manager Avram Grant, who has so far overseen two Premier League defeats, said This team carried a lot of psychology problems.

West Ham fans are beginning to get restless and its only late August. Outplayed at Aston Villa where a 3-0 score line could well have been a lot worse on the opening day, the Upton Park faithful sat through yet another defeat to Bolton last Saturday with the farce of a Carlton Cole penalty miss included.

Throw in the fact that in their last three games at Manchester United, West Ham have failed to grab any points and conceded nine and scored one and it is really difficult to sum up an argument for the Hammers. With an unkind fixture list throwing up Chelsea (h), Stoke (a) Tottenham (h) next, West Ham really need to show some fight at Old Trafford.

If any positives can be found, they surround Scott Parker who continues to be the fulcrum of the midfield and Mark Noble has also performed well, scoring the Hammers only Premier League goal so far this season. The Boleyn was also impressed with Mexican winger Pablo Barrera and the strike force of Carlton Cole and Frederic Piquionne should bag Premier League goals home and away.

Further undermining West Hams prospects is the fact that Manchester United will be chomping at the bit to make up for the disappointment at Fulham last time out. Sir Al! ex Fergu son rued Nanis missed penalty which would have put them 3-1 up and the veteran Scot will have found it difficult to be the victim of a late comeback of the sort his side have often produced over the years.

Wayne Rooney is expected to return after recovering from a virus that kept him out the draw with Fulham and he will be eager to finally score for the first time since the quarter-final of the Champions League last season. For all of Scott Parkers qualities, his battle with Paul Scholes will be crucial and the form the ginger midfielder has been in so far suggests there will be plenty of service for the Manchester United attack to dominate the West Ham defence.

With an international break coming up Ryan Giggs could also be involved from the start and even without the injured Rio Ferdinand, United should be too strong at the back to give many goals away.

Since Chelsea could be five points clear of Manchester United before kick off, this could be the day for West Ham to take a real battering as the home side send out a message of their own to match all the recent 6-0s in the Premier League.

Avram Grant has often been known as a lucky manager but the fixture list suggests this particular quality may have deserted him and the West Ham defence simply doesnt look strong enough to put up much of a fight.

United cantered to a 3-0 win over Newcastle in their opening home match, it would be a surprise if the score line was smaller than that on Saturday

101gg predicts: Manchester United 5 West Ham 0 (9.47)

Manchester United 1.12; Draw 7.33; West Ham 19.88


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