Louis Van Gaal and his band of we-will-just-have-to-try-and-score-more-than-our-opponents warriors seek a reversal of Premier League fortunes when Manchester United host West Ham United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
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Manchester United have made a poor start to their Premier League campaign, with that extremely disappointing defeat to Leicester City, when the newly-promoted side came down from 1-3 to win 5-3, pretty much summing up Van Gaal's team's season so far.
Defence has been a major concern for the manager, with United leaking too many goals, too easily. Van Gaal, who is known to throw in the hairdryer treatment every now and then, though, still believes in his players.
"I don't think the players have [seen a different side to me this week]," Van Gaal said. "I don't think my players are robots -- they are human beings and human beings make errors.
"I am also a manager who always wants to evaluate and discuss things. That's the way I do things. I have done it, this week is no different.
"It's happened, it's about overcoming things. It's not a regular occurrence -- when you see our figures in the Premier League, apart from the [Leicester] match, then we are defending well.
"The average is conceding less than one goal I think and we have scored a lot of goals. I think we are fifth or sixth [in the goalscoring charts]. I see it differently."
Be that may, the reality is, Manchester United have only picked up five points from five matches, which is considerably lesser than David Moyes' first five games in charge.
The fact that Van Gaal does not seem to be under as much scrutiny as Moyes is something to ponder, and maybe that has plenty to do with the quality of attacking football being played; but what can't also be denied is the fact that the manager has had way too many injuries to deal with at such an early stage of the season.
Chris Smalling was the latest casualty, leaving Van Gaal with little options in defence and nine senior players plus Tyler Blackett (suspension) out for the game against West Ham.
"At this moment this is maybe my toughest job but we have to see in a year," Van Gaal added. "We cannot say it about one week with the injuries.
"As a manager you know already in advance that it's a big challenge. This club is in a transition. What you don't know in advance is what the hard moments will be."
For West Ham, this match will be about building on the momentum gained from that brilliant win over Liverpool last weekend, when they stunned their opponents with a couple of early goals, before showing enough strength to see the game off.
West Ham are two points and four places ahead of Manchester United at the moment, and Sam Allardyce will certainly envisage increasing that gap just that little bit more with three points at Old Trafford.
"We are going into the game with confidence, and as underdogs," said West Ham manager Allardyce, who will be without Cheikhou Kouyate, Andy Carroll, Joey O'Brien, Kevin Nolan and Matt Jarvis. "Hopefully we can go out and continue our good performances and get a result."
Expected lineups: Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Fletcher, Rojo, Shaw; Herrera, Blind, Rooney, Di Maria; Falcao, Van Persie.
West Ham: Adrian; Jenkinson, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell; Amalfitano, Noble, Song, Downing; Sakho, Valencia.
Where to watch Live
The Old Trafford match is set for a 3 pm BST (10 am ET, 7.30 pm IST) start with live coverage on Star Sports 4 in India. The important game for Manchester United can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Star Sports online. There will be no TV coverage in the UK, Audience in the UK can listen to the match via radio on BBC Radio 5 Live or on the website. Catch the action in the US on TV on NBC Sports, while the game can also be Live Streamed online on NBC Sports Extra.
Australia viewers can Live Stream the action Fox Sports On Demand, while viewers in Canada can do the same Watch Sportsnet. Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match via Live Streaming online courtesy Bein Sports Connect, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can do the same via SuperSport online.
