EPL: Manchester United vs West Ham United Preview

Manchester, Nov 28: Premier League leaders Manchester United host West Ham United at Old Trafford in the midweek fixture on Wednesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson will aim for all three points at home and seal United's place at the top of the table while the Hammers will look to get back to winning ways after disappointing loss to Tottenham at the weekend.

Despite a promising start, another loss to Sam Allardyce's side will take them way below their current standings. However, a result at Old Trafford seems to be difficult task for the Londoners.

But they could snatch three points or at least a point considering United's record of going down first this season. The Red Devils have comeback from a losing position nine times in all competitions.

United had several defensive problems at the start due to injuries but with the return of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, Ferguson has the option of reshuffling his back line.

Veteran Paul Scholes misses out after collecting five bookings with Anderson favourite to replace him after an impressive second-half performance against QPR.

Nemanja Vidic, Nani and Shinji Kagawa remain United's long-term absentees.

West Ham, meanwhile, are without midfielder Mark Noble who is suspended after five bookings this season. Yossi Benayoun could be in contention after recovering from a knee injury.

Left-back George McCartney will face a late fitness test but midfielder Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te are still sidelined.

Trivia:

*Manchester United have won their last seven Premier League games against West Ham United.

*West Ham United have won five of the six league games in which they have scored first.

*In 16 visits to Old Trafford, West Ham have won just twice.

Probable Lineups:

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea-Smalling, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra-Young, Anderson, Carrick, Valencia-Van Persie, Rooney.

West Ham United (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen-O'Brien, Reid, Tomkins, McCartney-Taylor, O'Neil, Diame, Jarvis-Nolan-Carroll.

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