West Ham handed boost as Man Utd ace doesn’t travel to London – report
Manchester United midfielder Fred has not travelled to London for his side’s Premier League game against West Ham, according to Metro.
Marcus Rashford is also a doubt for the game after picking up a knock in midweek as the Red Devils lost 3-1 to PSG in the Champions League.
Fred was sent off in that game after he received two yellow cards but he arguably should have seen red when he was given his first yellow.
The Brazilian moved his head into the chest of Leandro Paredes in the first half of the game against PSG and somehow avoided a straight red card despite the referee having a second look using VAR.
Interestingly, Fred isn’t an injury doubt for the game and, according to Metro, he was spotted training on Friday morning.
This suggests that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is punishing his player after his reckless antics in midweek but this could come as a boost to David Moyes’ side.
The Hammers have a strong midfield partnership in Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice and with Fred’s absence, Man United may struggle in the centre of the park.
Bruno Fernandes should start but he will be playing in a more advanced role. Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek started in a three-man midfield when the Red Devils took on Southampton last week.
Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay could replace Fred but neither player has quite performed as well as they could have so far this season and they weren’t on the bench at Saint Mary’s last weekend.
There were no recognised central midfielders on the bench for Man United last weekend which could leave Solskjaer with a selection headache if Pogba and McTominay are still unavailable.
This could allow the Hammers to dominate the midfield and cut off the Red Devil’s attack, which would give the home side a great chance of taking something from the game.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes has issued an ultimatum to his players after their strong start to the season.