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The teams are out for Manchester United’s visit to West Ham, and José Mourinho has made five changes to the side that saw off Middlesbrough on New Year’s Eve.
Michael Carrick returns to the midfield with the captain’s armband, while Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo are in for Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling in the heart of defence. Matteo Darmian is also given a start, with Daley Blind failing to make the matchday squad. The fifth and final change comes in attack, where Jesse Lingard is preferred to Anthony Martial.
Here it is - the first #MUFC team of 2017... #WHUMUN pic.twitter.com/5ev62FJgxc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 2, 2017
West Ham’s main danger man is undoubtedly attacker Dimitri Payet, despite the Frenchman’s relatively slow start to the new campaign. Manuel Lanzini and Sofiane Feghouli could also prove dangerous sniffing around United’s goal. Initially, at least, United’s centre backs won’t have to deal with the aerial threat of Andy Carroll, who has been dropped after starting in the Hammers’ victory over Leicester City last time out.
TEAM NEWS!
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) January 2, 2017
3️⃣️ changes
A first @premierleague start for @sffeghouli
➡️ Obiang, Lanzini, Feghouli
⬅️ Noble, Ayew, Carroll#COYI #WHUMUN pic.twitter.com/PN2FIO5V5V