adminThe match starts at 8.45pm.
United’s morale took a blow after last week’s defeat at home to Manchester City, but Sunday’s 2-0 success at Stoke City saw Sir Alex Ferguson’s side re-establish a 15-point lead over their derby rivals.
It left them seven points from an unprecedented 20th English league crown and they could even capture the title as early as this Sunday if City slip up against Wigan Athletic and Tottenham Hotspur this week.
However, before that can happen, United must prevail at Upton Park, and the boisterous east London stadium has not always been a happy hunting ground for the men from Old Trafford.
United had title bids derailed there in both 1992 and 1995; the latter occasion a game in which home goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko produced save after save to deny United the goal they needed to pip Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League trophy on the season’s final day.
More recently, United were given a searching examination in an FA Cup third-round game in January, when the visitors needed an injury-time goal from Robin van Persie to take the tie to a replay.
All in all, United have won on just three of their last seven visits to West Ham in all competitions, including a chastening 4-0 thrashing in a League Cup tie in November 2010.
At least van Persie has recovered his scoring touch, having gone 10 games without a goal before finding the net from the penalty spot in the second half at Stoke.
Ferguson praised United for their “battling performance” at the Britannia Stadium and captain Nemanja Vidic believes a similarly committed display will be required tonight.
“Now it’s West Ham and we have to play well again,” the Serbian told United’s in-house television station, MUTV. They play in a similar style to Stoke — we’re going to have long balls and set pieces to deal with.”
The game at Stoke saw Wayne Rooney deployed in a midfield role, but although his performance was praised by Ferguson, the England striker has hinted that he would prefer to return to a more advanced position at West Ham.
“I’ve played there (in midfield) a few times this season,” he said.
“You have to think. As a centre-forward, you want to be as close to goal as possible to try and score.
“In midfield you have to hold yourself back at times and try and help the team keep the ball and move up the pitch.”
West Ham appear to have secured their top-flight status for next season, with Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Southampton having taken them to within two points of the 40-point mark typically considered as a guarantee of survival.
Manager Sam Allardyce had previously refused to answer questions about his future at the club, but with the finishing line now in sight, he has revealed he is already making plans for next season.
“I wouldn’t be here if we weren’t playing in the Premier League next season,” he said.
“(But) we are going to be safe and playing in the Premier League next season so my planning will be done as quickly as possible and we’ll get on to the contract, which I’m sure I’m going to sign.”
Allardyce has several injury concerns in defence, with centre-back James Tomkins having joined Winston Reid and George McCartney in the treatment room after limping off at Southampton.
Ryan Giggs and Tom Cleverley will hope to return to the United starting XI after being rested at Stoke, while Ferguson must also decide whether or not to restore Rooney to his attacking line.
Meanwhile, Rafael Benitez will attempt to rally his Chelsea side in the wake of their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City as they prepare for a crucial Premier League visit to Fulham tonight.
The Wembley loss to Roberto Mancini’s side means the Blues have missed out on seven of the eight trophies available to them this season and places more pressure on their efforts to qualify for the Champions League.
Benitez’s team make the short trip across west London to Craven Cottage in fourth place, but a failure to make the most of their game in hand will pave the way for Tottenham and Everton to step up their challenge.
The game marks the latest fixture in a gruelling schedule for Chelsea and interim manager Benitez must quickly lift his side’s spirits after the narrow 2-1 defeat to City.
Blues defender Cesar Azpilicueta admits Chelsea’s habit of losing important games this season is becoming alarming.
The club have exited both domestic cup competitions at the semi-final stage and failed at the final hurdle in their efforts to win the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
And Azpilicueta said: “It’s a little bit worrying. It’s not normal for Chelsea but it’s the reality.
“At the start against City we didn’t play our game. We were defending, we didn’t create chances. We shot once in the first half. It’s true we need to play different.
“We wanted to win all the trophies at the start of the season. Now the only trophy that we can win is the Europa League.”
The challenge facing Benitez is to manage a squad that has now played 59 games with the campaign not yet over. John Terry and Frank Lampard were left on the bench against City and could be recalled against Fulham, while Fernando Torres could start after an impressive substitute appearance.
“Fatigue is the reality. We’ve played 15 games more than Man City and we played three days ago in Moscow. But we’re professionals,” Azpilicueta said.
“It’s normal that we feel a little bit more tired than the other team. This season we’ve played a lot of games.
“We need to be focused and not think about feeling tired because it doesn’t matter. We need to win and it doesn’t matter the way we do it.”
The stakes in the league are getting higher with every cup exit, but Chelsea centre back David Luiz said: “If we win the Europa League and play Champions League next season, of course the season is a success.
“Some big teams in Europe don’t win titles this year so, of course, it’s a success.”
Fulham head into the clash sat comfortably in 10th place, having reached the important 40-point mark with the weekend 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
The main aim for Martin Jol’s team is to secure a top half finish.
And Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer said: “We’ve got one more game than most teams as we’re playing Chelsea on Wednesday.
“So we’ve got six games remaining and the target will be to try and get to that point where we are mathematically safe and then we’ll try and finish as high as possible in the table.
“There are points available and it’s good for momentum for next season if we can prove to people that Fulham deserve to be in the top half of the table.”
Today’s English Premiership Fixtures
Manchester City v Wigan (8:45pm), West Ham v Manchester United (8:45pm), Fulham v Chelsea (9pm). — AFP.
Online Reporter