Sports Blog 13/04/2016: FA Cup Quarter-Final Replay – West Ham vs Manchester United, Wednesday 13th April 2016

Who will triumph in the Boleyn Ground’s final FA Cup fixture, a quarter-final replay between Premier League rivals West Ham and Manchester United at 7pm on BBC One?

Despite having very similar seasons (with the FA Cup the only chance of silverware for both) only one side will be happy with their 2015/16 performance. West Ham have genuinely staked their claim as a team worthy of the Olympic Stadium, given a makeover by one of the league’s star signings Dmitri Payet and their impressive new manager Slaven Bilic. They are unbeaten in 7 league games, including a last gasp comeback against Everton and a thrilling draw against Arsenal, and sit a mere 2 points behind their FA Cup opponents in 6th place.

Yet there are a few concerns around the Hammers at the moment. They haven’t actually won a game since the start of March, drawing each of their last 3 league appearances. And whilst the likes of Payet (at a Super Mega PGM of 15-19) and Andy Carroll (his weekend hattrick leaving him with a Super Mega spread of 22-27) have found a rich vein of form the West Ham defence has been a bit leaky of late, conceding 9 goals in their last 4 games.



Luckily for the Hammers Manchester United are far from the team they once were. The side’s 3-2 over Arsenal at the end of February was meant to signal a shift in form for United; it hasn’t exactly panned out that way, however. Since the start of March Louis van Gaal’s men have won 3 of their 5 league games, a trio of uninspiring 1-0 affairs joined by losses to West Brom and, most recently, Tottenham. Whilst the West Brom defeat might seem the more embarrassing of the 2, Spurs’ comprehensive 3-0 win at White Hart Lane will have hurt Louis van Gaal and co. far more, it being the latest example of the seismic shift seen in the Premier League this season.

United will be hoping that the potential return of one Wayne Rooney, making an appearance for the U21s on Monday after 2 months on the sidelines, will be able to reenergise a team treading water. That, however, is a lot to ask of the captain, who heads into Wednesday the same 20-24 Super Mega PGM spread as Anthony Martial, and Rooney may struggle to keep up with the pace West Ham have proved they are more than capable of setting.

Given the respective quality of their recent performances it will come as no surprise that the Hammers, buoyed by the historic nature of the tie, are the favourites, Spreadex offering a West Ham/Manchester United Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 with a Total Goals spread of 2.45-2.65.

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