De Gea to miss out again for United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expects to be without David de Gea against high-flying West Ham today as Manchester United look to stay second in the table.
The 30-year-old was allowed to return to Spain last week for the birth of his child, leading him to miss three matches.
Solskjaer has confirmed de Gea is back in England ahead of the clash with the Hammers and said the goalkeeper was “touch and go” to start at Old Trafford.
Travellers from Spain are currently able to be released from quarantine if they test negative for Covid-19 after five days of isolation – a timescale the United boss now believes will probably rule the No. 1 out.
“David is probably released from his quarantine and isolation with a test on Sunday afternoon maybe,” Solskjaer said. “So he probably won’t make this game.”
De Gea’s continued absence would see Dean Henderson start a fourth straight match for United.
It is shaping up to be a key week and Solskjaer stressed the importance of getting a positive result against David Moyes’ impressive Hammers.
“I think they’ve been brilliant,” said Solskjaer, who oversaw a superb 2-0 win at Manchester City last weekend.
“He’s got players who score goals, they are creative, they defend really well. They’re really difficult at set-plays. David’s done a tremendous job that we know he is capable of.
“We know this is a big game for us. It’s maybe too far ahead to City so, of course, we need to consolidate our place in the top two or three hopefully.”
Moyes has told Said Benrahma to be patient as he searches for his first West Ham goal.
Benrahma scored 17 times for Brentford in the Championship last season, but has yet to get off the mark since his £30million switch from west to east London.
“First of all, he has got to stop hitting them over the bar, he’s got to start getting them under the crossbar,” said Moyes.
“That’s his job. Said is still learning and we think he has got more to come. He has just got to stay steady.”