MATCH PREVIEW: West Ham United vs. Manchester United

LAST TIME OUT:
WEST HAM 3 Wigan 1 Match Report			MAN UNITED 7 Blackburn 1 Match Report
STARTING 11:
1	R. Green		1	E. van der Sar
37	L. Jacobsen		21	Rafael
5	J. Tomkins		5	R. Ferdinand
15	M. Upson		15	N. Vidic
4	D. Gabbidon		3	P. Evra
21	V. Behrami		17	Nani
12	P. Barrera		16	M. Carrick
8	S. Parker		8	Anderson
25	J. Stanislas		13	J. Park
30	F. Piquionne		9	D. Berbatov
33	V. Obinna		10	W. Rooney
EVENTS:
Min. # Player (Event)   Min. # Player (Event) 34' 21 Behrami 2' 9 Berbatov 50' 37 Jacobsen 23' 13 Park - 2 W. Reid 27' 9 Berbatov 56' 33 Obinna 47' 9 Berbatov 75' 8 Parker 48' 17 Nani 77' 30 Piquionne 62' 9 Berbatov - 9 Cole 64' 15 Vidic 83' 8 Parker - 23 J. Evans - 14 Kovac 70' 9 Berbatov 72' 13 Park - 27 G. Obertan

So let's start with facts: West Ham haven't beaten Manchester United since December 29, 2007 (7 matches ago); they also haven't scored a goal on United since May 3, 2008 (6 matches ago).  Those are all Premier League games and the only time they've been paired in this competition was in the 3rd round of the 85-86 League Cup, when United won 1-0 before being eliminated in the next round by Liverpool.

Before Saturday's win vs. Wigan, West Ham were on a winless streak of 5 going back to the last round of this competition where they beat Stoke City 3-1.

Take those facts and add in that West Ham are currently bottom of the Premier League table and you can see why I might be so optimistic about United's prospects Tuesday night at Upton Park.  

West Ham will likely field a strong lineup, as this may be their only realistic chance at silverware and Avram Grant will be looking to find that magic that saw him lead Portsmouth to the FA Cup Final last season, even though they too were at the bottom of the table. 

Manchester United, on the other hand, are unbeaten in 29 games in all competitions, which is even more impressive considering how bland they've looked most of the season.  Unlike West Ham, United probably won't field a first-team like lineup, though any lineup United put forth will be fairly strong. 

Here's my projected starting 11: Kuszczak; Fabio, Vidic, Smalling, Neville; Park, Gibson, Carrick; Anderson, Hernandez, Bebe.  Fletcher may get the start if he's healthy.  The bench could likely see Amos, Brown, Obertan, Macheda, and take your pick of Eikrem or Dudgeon.  I'd imagine a clearer picture of tomorrow's lineup will be available following the Reserves fixture vs. Oldham later.