Manchester United preparations for West Ham clash take new twist
The Red Devils take on the Hammers on Sunday as they return to Premier League action
Manchester United chose not to train at Carrington ahead of their upcoming clash with West Ham.
The Red Devils face the Hammers on Sunday as they return to Premier League action, just three days after a challenging Europa League match against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Erik ten Hag’s squad only returned to England on Friday following the game, and they’ve opted to remain in London rather than traveling back to Manchester, affecting their pre-match training schedule.
Rather than training at Carrington, United prepared for the match at Brisbane Road, the home stadium of League One’s Leyton Orient.
Orient were away on Saturday, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers at Adams Park.
Speaking about the quick turnaround after the Fenerbahce game, Ten Hag explained: “We’re staying overnight [on Thursday] and then straight to London, training [on] Saturday.”
Manchester United’s preparations for their upcoming match against West Ham have been disrupted, not just logistically but in terms of squad selection, as Erik ten Hag faces a mounting injury crisis.
Currently, eight United players are sidelined with various issues, adding to the manager’s challenges.
The situation worsened midweek when Brazilian winger Antony was stretchered off in the game against Fenerbahce.
While Ten Hag remains hopeful that captain Bruno Fernandes and Jonny Evans will be fit in time for Sunday’s clash, he has been left frustrated by his squad’s ongoing fitness struggles this season.
Speaking ahead of the trip to West Ham, he said: “That holds us back in our levels and also in our position in the league, because when you don’t have the players available, you can’t line up the best team and that is what’s holding us back in this moment.
“We need more players often available, and then we have to work altogether on this point.
“That is the players, the coaching staff, all the other staff. We have to do better and to get more available players because we know when we have them, we are a really tough team to play, and when we have them, we can be really, really successful.
“And that is what we have shown over the last couple of months.”
Manchester United’s packed fixture calendar shows no sign of slowing down after their clash with West Ham.
Following this match, United will host Leicester City at Old Trafford in a midweek Carabao Cup tie, before facing back-to-back home games against Chelsea and PAOK.
The Red Devils then take on Leicester again in a Premier League showdown, rounding off a demanding series of fixtures.
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