WHZ View: Another big test for Rice as West Ham face United
Declan Rice will have his hands full again when West Ham travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to face second-placed Manchester United.
The Hammers skipper has been sensational this season, forming a solid partnership with Czech international Tomas Soucek. Together they anchor the West Ham midfield and cut out any danger getting through to the back-line.
Sunday will pose a big test, however. Portuguese superstar Bruno Fernandes has been a revelation for the Red Devils since his move. He particularly enjoyed his last outing with the east Londoners, coming off the bench to change the game.
West Ham had led 1-0 at half time through Soucek. He tapped in Rice’s near-post flick-on to give us a deserved lead. Bruno was introduced at half time, and in turn, flipped the game on his head. He assisted the first goal for Pogba and created another chance for Rashford later on.
Fernandes is having a wonderful season. His 16 Premier League goals and 10 assists rank him second for overall goal involvements. The number 18 is so effective in picking up pockets of space between defence and midfield, something Rice will have to be aware of on Sunday.
When Bruno came on fresh in the reverse fixture he simply had too much for Rice. But, as the season has gone on, Rice has effectively marked similar players out of matches. One example is below, away to Manchester City, Gundogan was operating in a false 9 which positions him similarly to Fernandes.
Rice spots that Gundogan has drifted into space and moves to intercept the pass from Fernadinho.
He intercepts the play, and proceeds to drive us upfield and allow some rest-bite to our back-line.
Rice goes on to get us into the City half as we look to make an impact in the game. He does this effectively in every match we play, Tomas Soucek can also be seen sitting back, demonstrating their excellent understanding.
Since taking the armband, Rice has hit new heights this season. He’s an ever-present in the Premier League and sets a fantastic example to his teammates through his professional performances.
He’s made 142 interceptions and 212 possession recoveries so far this season [WyScout]. We’re going to need him to be up to his best when going toe-to-toe with Fernandes on Sunday.
In other West Ham news, who replaces Lingard in the clash this weekend?