The League Cup marches on, and the quarterfinal round brings us a matchup between two sides struggling at opposite ends of the Premier League table. On one side are visiting West Ham United, trying to stave off a relegation fight less than a year after being one of the most impressive sides in England. On the other are host Manchester United, who briefly led the EPL before falling into doldrums in which they fell out of the title race and struggled to even stay close to the pack.
Manchester United vs. West Ham live stream: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch EFL Cup online
The pressure is mounting on both managers as Manchester United host West Ham United for the second time in a matter of days.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
While this match won’t directly affect the EPL, a triumph for either team in the League Cup could give them the spark they need to get thing moving in the right direction for their clubs again. West Ham manager Slaven Bilic and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho have been under fire as of late for failing to live up to expectations, and they’ll desperately look to get a big win here — not just to get to the League Cup semifinals, but to give themselves a little bit more assurance that they’ll be able to keep their jobs.
TV: beIN Sports (U.S.), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
Match date/time: Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. local
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
Three big things to know
- If this fixture sounds familiar, that’s because it is — these two teams just played each other at Old Trafford on Sunday, winding up in a 1-1 stalemate. That match was simultaneously intense and bizarre, with neither team wanting to relent, but also neither wanting to give away too much of their plans or overexert themselves ahead of an elimination match a few days later.
- That means that even with both teams holding something back for this game, there are still plenty of lessons that Mourinho and Bilic can take away to try to find a way to break the deadlock this time around. Be it a particular player matchup they think can swing things their way or a tactical hole they think they can exploit, it will be fascinating to see what kind of adjustments each makes as they come in for round two.
- The one big change for this match from the weekend is that Manchester United will be without crucial midfielder Paul Pogba, which could be a bitter blow for them. He’s been at the heart of all their best matches this season, and even if he didn’t start it was likely Pogba would have played a big role on the bench in this match. Alas, he picked up a yellow card during the weekend, so he has to watch this one from the stands instead of participating.
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