Man Utd vs. West Ham

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Saturday, 28 August Kick-off: 1715 BST
Coverage: Live on ESPN, BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, local radio & highlights on Match of the Day

• TEAM NEWS

Manchester United may rest Paul Scholes and draft Michael Carrick or Ryan Giggs into central midfield.

Wayne Rooney returns after missing the match with Fulham and will partner Dimitar Berbatov in attack.

West Ham are likely to opt for a five-man midfield, so striker Frederic Piquionne could give way to midfielder Radoslav Kovac.

Matthew Upson should return to the side after missing the Carling Cup game against Oxford with a facial injury.

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Man Utd

Doubtful:

Injured: Anderson, Ferdinand & Hargreaves (all knee)

West Ham

Injured: Collison, Hines & Kurucz (all knee), Hitzlsperger (thigh)

• MATCH PREVIEW

Letting a lead slip twice, squandering a penalty and conceding an 89th minute equaliser against Fulham last Sunday left Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson raging, especially as his side missed out on the title last season by a solitary point.

But the Red Devils are a team that never dwells on a bad result and, on paper, West Ham seem ideal opposition as Ferguson's side look to play catch up on Chelsea's goal difference that already stands at +12.

With the Hammers porous at the back, it could also be the perfect chance for Wayne Rooney to rediscover his goalscoring form. When United played West Ham back in February, he took his tally to a staggering 27 goals in just 36 matches, but his horror run now stretches to 13 matches and 1081 minutes without a goal.

Hammers boss Avram Grant faced an insurmountable challenge when he replaced Paul Hart at crisis club Portsmouth last season, but on the evidence of West Ham's first three games of the season, he has another serious job on his hands to install faith in a team that he says carry a lot of "psychology problems."

The Hammers are already off to their worst-ever start to a Premier League season and captain Scott Parker admitted he is "dreading" the thought of Saturday's trip to Old Trafford. If that wasn't bad enough, they then face Chelsea, Stoke away and Tottenham.

• MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Man Utd have won their last five matches against West Ham and have scored 14 goals in those games to the Hammers' one.

• The Red Devils dropped just three points from winning positions last season, which was the fewest in the top flight. West Ham on the other hand dropped 15.

• West Ham have made 15 visits to Old Trafford in the Premier League, but have won there just twice, in December 2001 and May 2007.

Man Utd

• Wayne Rooney has failed to score for club and country in 13 matches; his last goal came against Bayern Munich on 30 March. He has provided just one assist in Man Utd's last nine league matches.

• The Red Devils have won 11 of their last 12 league matches at Old Trafford, and have averaged 3.25 goals per game in that period.

• Paul Scholes made 200 passes in United's opening two games of the season, the highest in the league.

West Ham

• The Hammers are without an away win in the league since the first day of last season when they beat Wolves 2-0, a run of 19 matches.

• West Ham's last seven league victories all came at Upton Park.

• If he plays, Scott Parker will be making his 250th career league start.

• LEADING GOALSCORERS

Man Utd

Berbatov: 2 (1 league)

Includes goals in Community Shield

West Ham

Noble: 1 goal (1 league); Parker: 1 goal (0 league)

• MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Assistant referees: Adam Watts & Martin Yerby

Fourth official: Michael Jones

• LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS

Man Utd (D2-2 v Fulham, a): Van der Sar, O'Shea, Vidic, Jonathan Evans, Evra, Valencia (Giggs 74), Fletcher, Scholes, Park (Nani 67), Hernandez (Owen 75), Berbatov. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Smalling, Carrick, Rafael Da Silva.

West Ham (L1-3 v Bolton, h): Green, Faubert, Gabbidon, Upson (Reid 54), Ilunga, Dyer (McCarthy 77), Parker, Noble, Barrera, Piquionne, Cole (Sears 86). Subs not used: Stech, Tomkins, Boa Morte, Kovac.

From BBC