With little time to wallow following their FA Cup semifinal loss, Manchester United look to put themselves in the catbird seat for fourth in the table Wednesday when they host West Ham United at Old Trafford.
The Mancunians picked an inopportune time to have an absolute clunker of a performance, losing 3-1 to Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Keeper David De Gea should have done better on Chelsea's first two goals, with the second one conceded early in the second half bordering on being a howler.
But that indifferent play spread throughout Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, with talisman and centre back Harry Maguire responsible for Chelsea's third via an own goal. By the time Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the spot on 85 minutes, Manchester United's 19-match unbeaten run (14-5-0) in all competitions was already gone, as was their chance at a 13th FA Cup trophy.
"You want to win everything and we're very disappointed in the dressing room, but we need to be better in these big games when it matters," Solskjaer said post-match. "We know that, we'll have to take that into account, learn again and get ready for the next big ones. We've got two in five days coming up."
The first of those two is this vital contest, which could give Manchester United (17-11-8) the critical inside track to the fourth and final Champions League spot ahead of the team they are jockeying with for that berth - Leicester City. The Red Devils enter this match level with the Foxes on points and goal difference with one fewer match played and four fewer goals scored, and the teams conclude the season Sunday against each other in the Midlands.
"Every three days we play, so we have to analyse this game for sure. But all our focus needs to be on West Ham on Wednesday," midfielder Nemanja Matic told the Manchester Evening News. "Our target is to be top four and we'll do our best. We always want to win but this is football. Sometimes you don't play well and this can happen, but in the future we cannot allow to concede three goals and I'm sure we'll learn from this."
Solskjaer will have to make some key decisions regarding his backline, with centre back Eric Bailly the primary concern after taking a blow to the head Sunday that forced him off in the first half. Left back Luke Shaw is questionable after missing the loss to Chelsea with an ankle injury, but Maguire should be good to go despite a cut above his eye suffered in the collision with Bailly.
Though unlikely given his scintillating form, Solskjaer could give thought to resting Fernandes ahead of Sunday's showdown with Leicester City. The Portugal international, though, has been a relentlessly positive force for United with nine goals and eight assists in 18 matches in all competitions since arriving in January.
There was a time when Manchester United supporters thought former boss and current West Ham gaffer David Moyes would also be such a positive force as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson, but that turned out to be anything but the case. This is the fourth time Moyes is facing United since being sacked in April 2014, losing twice with Sunderland in 2016-17 and playing them to a scoreless draw in his first go-round with West Ham in 2017-18.
The Irons (10-7-19) are all but mathematically assured of survival, entering this contest six points better than both Aston Villa and Bournemouth - the top two teams in the drop - and with a better goal difference. West Ham need only one point from either of their final two matches, with the other being at home versus Villa on Sunday, to ensure their top-flight safety.
Moyes' side put themselves in that position by taking care of business. West Ham followed up a 4-0 pasting of last-place Norwich City with a 3-1 victory over Watford on Friday, scoring all three goals in the first 36 minutes.
Michail Antonio followed up his four-goal effort versus the Canaries with West Ham's first, and after Tomas Soucek headed home on 10 minutes to double the lead, Declan Rice let fly with a long-range effort that helped the Irons improve to 3-1-1 in their last five league matches.
"They were three great goals, they really were: Michy getting another goal, showing his ability to play up there and the threat that he's become," Moyes raved to the team's official website. "I think the cross from Jarrod [Bowen] and the header by Tomas [Soucek] was a bit like the old days - a great ball in and it looked like that old-fashioned centre forward play, David Cross-type!
"Declan has got some ability to shoot - with great power, he's a really clean striker of the ball. Partly because we've got him in a role where he recovers the ball and wins the ball back for us so much, we just don't get to see him in that [forward] role as much. Tonight he got a goal, so he's beginning to get a bit further up the pitch for us, and let's hope he can get in there and show his ability near the opposition goal."
Moyes has had few rave reviews at the Theatre of Dreams regardless of which coaching box he's occupied, entering this match 0-3-9 at Old Trafford as an opposing manager. Prior to his tenure at Manchester United, he was 0-3-8 with Everton from 2002-13.
West Ham, though, are seeking their first double over Manchester United since 2006-07, having won 2-0 in September under Manuel Pellegrini on goals by Andriy Yarmolenko and Aaron Cresswell. The Irons are 2-3-21 at Old Trafford in all competitions in the Premier League era and winless in 14 (0-3-11) since Carlos Tevez - in his lone season at West Ham before joining Manchester United - supplied the difference in a 1-0 victory in May 2007.