Jose Mourinho disappointed in his first year at Manchester United, as he was only able to stir the team to a sixth-place finish. He, however, erased some doubts when his men captured a cup double and a Champions League berth courtesy of a Europa League victory, so he should be fine for now.
The Red Devils brought in plenty of interesting reinforcements during the transfer window – Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, and Victor Lindelof. Lukaku is there to replace the departed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he can be expected to help the offense and impose his will up the front, Maric is there to bolster the midfield presence, and Lindelof is an intriguing youngster that will likely be a big part of the rotation moving forward.
One player to watch out for is the talented Paul Pogba, who is primed for a productive season. It will be exciting to see how well he can break out now that he has more opportunity and support to showcase his abilities.
West Ham is yet again coming off a forgettable campaign, as they finished last season below the top nine for the fourth time in five years. It’s not pure dirt, though, since they earned some good wins towards the latter half of the year, which should – at the very least – keep some confidence intact.
With that, we can expect the club to be better this coming season, because along with those rhythm-building victories, is an added year of experience inside their newly-built stadium in London, a place where they had a tough time adjusting to this past year.
Like their upcoming opponents, the Hammers are also parading heralded newcomers, with former Manchester United player (2010-2015), Javier Hernandez, leading that pack. It’s appearing to be a good marriage, as West Ham got him on a good price and he’s playing extra motivated due to that chip on his shoulder.
Hernandez, along with veteran right back Pablo Zabaleta, and the aggressive Marko Arnautović, should be able to give ample support to West Ham, especially to key scorer, Michail Antonio (nine goals in 2016).
