West Ham Vs. Manchester United: Nani, Chicharito And More Will Decide The Match
Come Saturday afternoon, the lads of West Ham United will take to the pitch at Upton Park to face one of the world’s most difficult opponents, expectation.
Other than the Hammer faithful, few expect West Ham to beat United. The likes of Nani will be expected to walk all over West Ham, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s wily ways are expected to be too much for Avram Grant and his coaching staff.
Yet despite expectations, United currently suffers injury woes and the Hammers have displayed the best form of their season these past few weeks. As one commenter on the official Red Devils message board pointed out, “This game will be tougher than most people think.”
It’s important that West Ham take at least a point from the match; the Irons are in the thick of the relegation battle and most of the teams around them in the table boast much less daunting fixtures in the coming weeks.
The Devils will do their best to give the Irons hell, but the Hammers just might smash them to bits as Sir Alex sits hopelessly at a distance, clutching his withered gray skin in frustration.
Here are the battles and players who will decide Saturday’s match.
Nani Vs. Wayne Bridge or Lars Jacobsen
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Call Wayne Rooney talismanic all you’d like, Nani is United’s most valuable player. He’s got nine goals and 16 assists in his 26 league starts this season.
What makes Nani even more dangerous is the sly Iberian's ability to play equally as well from either wing.
If he plays on the right wing Saturday, he’ll be up against left back Wayne Bridge. If he plays on the left wing, he’ll probably be up against Lars Jacobsen, assuming Grant fields the same 4-4-2 formation he did at White Hart Lane two weeks ago.
Nani’s excellent dribbling, phenomenal pace and expert distribution fuel United’s goal scoring proclivities. Bridge possesses the experience and skill to handle a player of Nani’s caliber, though he may not be fast enough.
If Ferguson plays Nani on the left wing, against Lars Jacobsen…yikes.
The Chicharito Factor
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Let's assume that Ferguson saves Wayne Rooney for the mid-week Champion's League clash with Chelsea. That means he'll likely field Dimitar Berbatov and Chicharito against West Ham this weekend.
While Bulgarian Bomber Berbatov has a reputation for tallying obscene goal totals against teams in the bottom half of the table, West Ham has exhibited impressive defensive fortitude in recent weeks.
Enter Javier Hernandez, né Chicharito. Statistically the fastest player at the 2010 World Cup, Chicharito is the scourge of subpar defensive lines and links up with Nani with perfect fluidity.
Despite his wealth of experience, West Ham captain and central defender Matthew Upson doesn’t have the pace to match Hernandez.
Assuming Ferguson starts Chicharito, it will be up to either James Tomkins or Manuel Da Costa to shut him down. Tomkins is a strong, tall, quick and aggressive player and just the kind of man West Ham need playing opposite Hernandez. However, Grant may favor Da Costa for his strength and physicality.
Regardless of who Grant fields, the battle to control Chicharito will weigh heavily on the outcome of the match.
Demba Ba, Robbie Keane and United's Backline
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If West Ham are going to make the most their opportunity against United, they will need goals, goals and more goals. As recent history has shown, United is best defeated when thumped, not finessed, into defeat.
Demba Ba and Robbie Keane have yet to play a full league match together. Saturday's match against United is the ultimate test of their ability to work with one another to increase the threat each possesses alone.
Since arriving in London, Ba has proven himself an essential figure in West Ham’s success, finding the back of the net four times in a span of three league games. Against Tottenham, Ba showed great instinct as a distributor when linking with Carlton Cole.
Make of Irishman Robbie Keane what you will; he’s a cunning and experienced player. Couple that with Ba’s predatory instinct and rapid development, and you have a recipe for danger.
On its best day, United has the skills to handle Keane and Ba. Saturday, however, is not United’s best day. Rio Ferdinand is out for sure and word isn’t in on Nemanja Vidic. Even if he’s fit to play, chances are he won’t be playing at the top of his game.
Chew on this: In the 2010-11 season, United has conceded 59 percent more goals when playing without Ferdinand.
Red Devil's keeper Edwin van der Sar faces the difficult task of organizing and maintaining his diminished backline against the West Ham forwards.
United’s weakened backline taking on the terrible twosome of Keane and Ba will prove one of the crucial battles in Saturday’s match.
The Battle for Central Midfield
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West Ham’s midfield duo of Scott Parker and Thomas Hitzlsperger are indispensable for the Hammers. Shut them down, you shut the team down.
Luckily, for West Ham, United suffers notable midfield woes this campaign. Even luckier for West Ham is United's mid-week battle with Chelsea: Ferguson will want to keep his big guns rested for that match.
Expect Ferguson to play Michael Carrick, who is certainly no match for Scott Parker, and maybe Darron Gibson, who is no match for Hitzlsperger. However, Grant may play Mark Noble next to Parker in central midfield and push Hiztlsperger out wide to the left wing, where the German will encounter Rafael da Silva. What a battle that would be!
On the right wing, Grant will probably play Gary O’Neil, who is ultimately not well suited to taking on Ryan Giggs, should Feruguson field the Welshman.
Despite his mid-week match with Chelsea, Ferguson is no fool. He no doubt already has a plan in place to nullify the threat of Parker and Hitzlsperger. Whether it will work is anyone's guess.
West Ham can allow itself some optimism here, but should be wary that whoever wins the midfield battle wins the game, and if the Hammers midfield takes too many risks, it may let the game slip away.
Rob Green and Matthew Upson
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United pose a constant threat, even when they lose. Rooney, Hernandez, Nani, Berbatov and more barrage the goal with balls.
Rob Green proved last week he’s the right man when he racked up nine saves against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. He will need to display the same tenacity, spirit and presence against United.
Matthew Upson will need to provide organization, coherence and precision to West Ham’s backline. As Upson himself said in an interview with West Ham TV, young players like Da Costa often display questionable decision-making skills under pressure.
It’s up to Upson to make sure the Hammer’s defensive line stays clear headed for the duration of the game and provides Green with as much support as possible. If these two allow Ferguson and United to break them down mentally and pick them apart physically, the match is lost.
The Battle of Mental Fortitude
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When you boil a match down to its most fundamental element, what you’re left with is a battle of mental fortitude between the gaffers. Enter Avram Grant and Sir Fergie.
Again, the Hammers are lucky here, because Grant has a degree of flexibility in his set up that Ferguson does not, considering injuries and the upcoming Champion’s League row with the Blues.
Certainly, Grant will field four defenders and take no chances, as he did against Tottenham. That leaves three potential formations for West Ham, a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3 and a 4-3-2-1.
The Hammers’ best chance against United is a 4-3-2-1 with Parker, Noble and Hitzlsperger distributing to Ba and Keane, with Piquionne upfront, hanging around the goal; or, a 4-4-2 with Hitzlsperger playing wide on the left wing, raining crosses in to Keane and Ba.
This will maximize distribution and the space West Ham have to play with, though may weaken them on the counter attack, which is why, once again, we must stress the importance of Upson and Green’s fortitude and leadership.
Ferguson will anticipate a widespread series of weakened individual lines from Grant and stick with his trusty, physical, aggressive 4-4-2 as a means of controlling possession and breaking West Ham down.
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