United missing Martial

Manchester United will be without Anthony Martial for tonight's crucial Premier League trip to West Ham.
United striker Anthony MartialUnited striker Anthony Martial
United striker Anthony Martial

The forward missed Saturday’s win at Norwich after getting injured in the warm-up, with manager Louis van Gaal unwilling to risk the France international at Carrow Road.

Matteo Darmian (ankle) is out, having come off early on in that victory.

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But rested pair Daley Blind and Marcus Rashford will be pushing for recalls.

Marouane Fellaini is banned while Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee) and Luke Shaw (leg) are also out.

United have their top-four destiny in their own hands, knowing that victories this week at West Ham and at home to Bournemouth will secure that.

The resulting return to the Champions League next season with its financial rewards, plus success in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, would help salvage some pride for van Gaal after a challenging year.

The motivation for West Ham is entirely different.

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The game is their final one at Upton Park before they move to the Olympic Stadium next season.

And they are eager to sign off with a win after being thrashed 4-1 at home by Swansea City on Saturday.

Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is still “fuming” and called on his players to produce an immediate response against United.

The heavy loss to Swansea was West Ham’s first in the Premier League for 11 matches and left them seventh in the table, just one point ahead of Liverpool, the same margin adrift of sixth-placed Southampton and four behind United in fifth.

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“Make no mistake, I’m crazy, I’m fuming, more angry than disappointed,” Bilic admitted.

“You are disappointed when you do everything and it doesn’t work out for you but we didn’t do what we had to do and that makes me more angry.

“It’s important we play much better Tuesday night than we did against Swansea.

“I’m not talking about the finishing product because that depends on the day or your inspiration. I’m talking about the basic things which were missing.

“Okay, you have to give credit to Swansea but for most of the games this season that we lost, it was because we were not doing those simple, basic things.

“We can’t afford not to do those basics.”