‘Some turnaround’ – Owen predicts winner of West Ham v Sheffield United
Michael Owen thinks West Ham will get back to winning ways in the Premier League clash with Sheffield United on Monday evening.
The Hammers are well in the hunt for the European places, but face a big challenge with the Blades visit the London Stadium.
Chris Wilder’s men have won three of their last six league games, including a victory at Old Trafford over Manchester United. They’ve also advanced to the quarter finals of the FA Cup.
Whilst speaking to BetVictor Blog, Owen stated he backs Moyes’ side to take all three points despite some fresh injury concerns.
He said: “West Ham have been a model of consistency this season, however, they must overcome some injury problems if they are to prevail against Sheffield United.
“The Blades’ have won six of their last nine in all competitions which is some turnaround from a side that have been bottom most of the season. It just goes to show how important confidence is in football.
“For all I have been impressed with Sheffield United’s resurgence, I’ve been equally, if not more, impressed by West Ham recently. They have been so well drilled this season and look a completely different outfit, especially at home.
“With that in mind, I’m siding with the Hammers to take all three points in this one.
Owen predicts the scoreline to be 3-1 in favour of West Ham.
Injury woes
David Moyes suffered a torrid evening at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Over the course of 90 minutes, the Hammers lost Angelo Ogbonna, Andriy Yarmolenko and Issa Diop to injury. In addition, Fabian Balbuena got injured in the warm-up and Michail Antonio didn’t travel due to fatigue.
Key injuries upfront and at the back have really damaged the spine of this solid West Ham side. One of the reasons for our success this year has been a consistent XI. Moyes has been fortunate this campaign with his squad’s fitness, but now comes a real challenge.
Sheffield United are not to be taken lightly. Yes, they’ve been at the bottom all season. But it was only a matter of time before they put a run together. They’ve always been in games, just beaten by the odd goal.
Of their 18 league defeats in 2020/21, thirteen of those have come by a single goal. This includes our narrow 1-0 victory at Bramall Lane in November, in which Sebastian Haller scored a cracker.
They’re a confident side again, the bottom three are now separated by four points. They’ll come hungry for a result, let’s hope the stand ins step up on Monday.
In other West Ham news, Frank McAvennie reacts to Ogbonna and Diop injury blows.