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5 reasons West Ham will finish above Manchester United this season

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United gestures following the third West Ham Goal as Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United celebrates during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United gestures following the third West Ham Goal as Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United celebrates during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United is tackled by Issa Diop (l) and Fabian Balbuena of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 29: Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United is tackled by Issa Diop (l) and Fabian Balbuena of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester United at London Stadium on September 29, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

Our centre-backs actually enjoy defending

We made a number of signings over the summer that have materially improved the side. Although we’ve not been watertight at the back, our centre-back pairing has been a huge improvement on last season. They’ve been commanding in the air, great at holding a high line and very impressive when challenged on the ground. They even both show ability on the ball as well, coming out of defence and making intelligent passes when they’re available.

Manchester United may not have signed a centre-back last summer, but have spent over 60m on that position in the last few years, and are still leaking goals. Smalling, Rojo, Jones, Lindelof and Bially are all culpable at various points. They don’t seem capable of working as a pair, whoever it is that was selected for each match. United have conceded more league goals this season than they did in the entirety of last season.

Over the course of a season your results are determined by how many goals you can score vs how many you concede. Simple stuff, but if they continue to leak goals they will struggle to keep their position in the table because, as we will discuss next, they’re not scoring well. The more you concede, even if you’re scoring freely, it becomes harder and harder to win. The pressure increases on your strike force, and games become a slog. This is why the Hammers have the advantage.