West Ham United Fan View: How the Hammers can deal with the Red Devils

In two days, West Ham United will play their first game of the 17/18 Premier League season against Manchester United. This is undoubtedly one of the toughest fixtures that we could have received but anything can happen on the first day. Here are three things to look out for…

Javier Hernandez’s return to Old Trafford

After months of the club chasing a big-name striker, the owners finally delivered this summer. But let’s not forget that it was a year late. Javier Hernandez was signed a reported £16m from Bayer Leverkusen and this could turn out to be one of the bargains of the summer.

READ MORE: West Ham Fan View: Have Hammers bought poorly – again?

Hernandez was loved by the Manchester United fans for his ability to score crucial goals. But how will he fare this Sunday on his return home? We know that some of the defenders at Manchester United played with Hernandez. They know exactly how he likes to play and what his weaknesses are. Given that they had one of the best defences in the Premier League last season, it is difficult to see Hernandez scoring on his debut.

How do we deal with a rejuvenated Manchester United attack?

When we faced Manchester United last season at Old Trafford, we limited them to scoring only one goal and left with a draw. They wasted too many chances at home last season and we benefitted from that. But this season, their attack has been rejuvenated with Romelu Lukaku replacing Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

READ MORE: West Ham Fan View: Where the Hammers must strengthen in the summer

Lukaku appears to love playing against West Ham, scoring for fun against us and Slaven Bilic has to find a way to deal with his pace and power. Pedro Obiang had a great season last year and we need him to replicate that form this Sunday. We could see Bilic opt for two defensive midfielders in order to combat United’s threat and hit them on the counter.

Have we learnt from last season’s mistakes?

It was difficult watching West Ham play against the big teams last season. We performed exceptionally well in the 15/16 season against the big teams. But last season, we were embarrassed in some games and we knew that a heavy loss was coming. We conceded 4 to Liverpool and 4 to Manchester United. We conceded 9 to Manchester City in two games without scoring once.

Now many fans, including myself, do not expect West Ham to win this Sunday. But we cannot leak goals like we did last season and we have to give Manchester United a tough game. This will set the tone for the rest of the season and the summer signings have to be a big part of this.

My prediction? Manchester United 3-0 West Ham.