It was no less than shocking to see Manchester United get knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Derby County. Frank Lampard who is the manager of the Championship team bested his former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to proceed in the competition. Now Mourinho will be trying to forget everything and concentrate on his next game against West Ham.
Although the Hammers may be sitting close to the bottom of the table, they surely won’t give an easy contest to Mourinho. Manuel Pellegrini’s side may have begun the season badly when they lost their opening 4 matches against Liverpool, Bournemouth, Arsenal, and Wolves, however, they have recovered from that having secured a 3-1 victory against Everton and holding Chelsea to 0-0 draw at their own ground.
And the most recent Carabao Cup encounter was the height of their performance as they registered their biggest victory in 34 years. They demolished Macclesfield Town 8-0 as six of their players found the net. Therefore, Mourinho need not be relaxed as he will be facing a team at the peak of their confidence and strength.
Marko Arnautovic is likely to make a return in the coming game. The Austrian could pose a real threat to Manchester United. He already has scored 3 goals for the Hammers in 5 league appearances. The talented forward was suffering from a knee injury that caused him to miss the Chelsea and Macclesfield Town matches.
Jose Mourinho will be desperate to win this encounter after the huge criticism he received for losing the previous game. The Portuguese gaffer did get 3 successive victories after 2 defeats, however, the previous 2 games have once again opened the flood-gates of criticisms for the Portuguese.
Particularly the match against the Championship team Derby County was quite disappointing for the fans. In that match, the early goal did herald a positive result for the home side, but their expectations were dashed when Derby scored 2 goals in the second half. Fellaini came up with the header to revive the hopes of Old Trafford, but the missed penalty of Phil Jones lost the battle for Manchester United. That’s how ended their Carabao Cup campaign.
If we look at the history between United and West Ham, it is hugely in United’s favor. The Red Devils have only suffered 2 defeats after 25 previous encounters with the Hammers, though the previous encounter at London Stadium was a draw.
There is no doubt that Mourinho will try his best for victory in order to appease the United fans and lessen the media criticisms. And it is likely that he will win, still, West Ham won’t make this an easy victory for United. Manuel Pellegrini will try to exploit the pressure situation of Manchester United, therefore a victory for the Hammers is very much on the cards too.