Graham Potter is absolutely desperate for a win to ease mounting pressure at West Ham and it is Manchester United, and the man who could have been in the Hammers dugout, who stand in his way.
One of the few consolations for West Ham in this most miserable of seasons is that Manchester United and rivals Spurs have been almost as bad.
Man United are just two points and two places above West Ham, who sit 17th with three games to play.
Both the Red Devils and the Hammers have replaced their managers mid-season.
And the two clubs have been intrinsically linked in that respect since last summer.
West Ham held high profile talks with Ruben Amorim when they were assessing candidates to replace David Moyes.
Hammers handed massive lift ahead of Old Trafford showdown
In the end West Ham admitted appointing Amorim was too expensive.
Manchester United had no such reservations, shelling out around £30m in compensation and wages for Amorim and his staff.
Amorim’s appointment came after West Ham drove the final nail into Erik ten Hag’s Old Trafford coffin.
Julen Lopetegui’s side somehow survived a first half onslaught at the London Stadium to win the reverse fixture via a fortuitous penalty at the death.
Ten Hag was sacked the next day back in October.
But Lopetegui – who had been linked with Man United before being appointed by West Ham last summer – didn’t last much longer, becoming the shortest-serving permanent Hammers boss ever.
Graham Potter replaced the Spaniard in January but neither he or Amorim have been able to turn things around in the Premier League.
Potter has just three wins in 16 games as West Ham boss.
While Amorim is seen as a project manager for the Red Devils, he also has the Europa League as a lifeline and an avenue back into the Champions League.
Pressure is already mounting on Potter with the jury out among West Ham fans.
That’s despite West Ham’s owners throwing their backing behind Potter this week.
The Hammers cannot buy a win at the moment and Potter is desperately looking for some positive momentum going into a hugely important summer.
Man United’s confirmed absentees hand Potter major boost
Avoiding being the worst team in the Premier League outside the relegation zone is also now the only jeopardy remaining for the Irons or Manchester United.
The two sides meet this Sunday.
And Potter has been handed a golden West Ham opportunity after a shock Man United announcement.
West Ham were booed off after failing to beat a Tottenham reserve team last weekend.
Spurs made eight changes with their Europa League semi-final – and likely final – on the horizon.
Now Man United have revealed as many as 12 players could miss the game against West Ham.
In his latest press conference ahead of Manchester United’s semi-final second leg against Athletic Club, Amorim and the Red Devils have confirmed a host of stars are unavailable at the moment.
And if Potter can’t get a positive result given the list of players missing for the Red Devils then it will be a huge chance wasted.
It has been confirmed that Jonny Evans, Christian Eriksen and Matthijs de Ligt are all missing from Man United training ahead of the games against Athletic Club and the Hammers with the latter definitely out of West Ham.
Impressive young defender Ayden Heaven – who walked out on West Ham to join Arsenal’s academy before signing for Man United – is training alone and unlikely to return anytime soon.
Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Toby Collyer and Joshua Zirkzee are also listed as absentees from full Man United training ahead of the two games.
In addition to the missing players, Amorim could leave out another four top Manchester United stars for West Ham.
No excuses for Potter as depleted Red Devils could be without 12
Noussair Mazraoui, Casemiro, skipper Bruno Fernandes and centre-forward Rasmus Hojlund were all notably rested by Amorim for Man United’s 4-3 defeat to Brentford last time out.
That is with a view to all of them starting against Athletic Club, despite Man United holding a 3-0 advantage.
With one foot in the final, Amorim could leave those players out for a rest against West Ham, as he did vs Brentford, so as not to risk potentially losing them for the final. The same applies to Eriksen according to Man United’s website.
That means as many as 12 Manchester United players could be missing or rested for the Hammers clash.
While West Ham have an awful record at Old Trafford, there will perhaps never be a better time to get a win there.
And with Potter desperate for a much-needed victory, it is a gift horse he cannot afford to look in the mouth.
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