Manchester United's faltering form has thrown their previously comfortable top-four finish into doubt, as they have just one win within 90 minutes of their last five games in all competitions.

There has been one constant throughout this run, stretching back to mid-March, that Erik ten Hag's team have not hit more than two goals in one fixture.

This is a serious cause for concern, as it was their free-flowing attack that carried them through the early parts of the campaign. With Marcus Rashford slowing down somewhat since his injury, it seems the rest of the team is yet to pick up his slack and make up for his slightly weaker performances.

With just two goals in the Englishman's last eight, the forward had previously enjoyed a run of ten goals across as many games. The Red Devils need to find a way to put their opposition to bed earlier, and today's clash with West Ham United presents a tough challenge where that kind of ruthlessness will be imperative.

Although David Moyes had engineered an initial turnaround, the Hammers are currently on a run of three straight losses. Despite this, most recently at the London Stadium they battled well with Liverpool and fought from 2-0 down to snatch a point from Arsenal.

They are not to be ignored, as they present a huge banana skin which United will have to avoid. To ensure the hosts are suitably put to the sword, Fred must be dropped to facilitate more attacking impetus from the engine room. The man to provide this could well be Marcel Sabitzer.

How did Fred play vs Brighton?

With the £120k-per-week Brazilian having started alongside Casemiro in their recent loss to Brighton and Hove Albion, the midfielder was decidedly anonymous throughout as Roberto De Zerbi's men enjoyed 60% of the ball.

That starved the workmanlike asset of possession, as he recorded just 37 touches all game and maintained an abysmal pass accuracy of 74%. Such wastefulness also seeped into his defensive work, where he would lose five of the nine duels competed in all game, via Sofascore, resulting in his late substitution.

Fans have become accustomed to displays such as this, with journalist Alex Turk even taking to Twitter to highlight one of Fred's showings from February: "Fred isn’t good enough. The occasional stand-out games aren’t enough. Liability."

Meanwhile, Sabitzer this season has overseen a bit-part role for the Red Devils since his January move, yet remained a consummate professional despite his lack of play-time. Across his 17 displays in all competitions, of which only 11 have been starts, the Austrian has recorded three goals and one assist.

For comparison, across Fred's 50 appearances this term, nearly three times the amount of his teammate, the 30-year-old has mustered just six goals in all competitions.

This is also without mentioning the startling praise handed to the Bayern Munich man from Sky Sports journalist Uli Koehler, who suggested that the midfielder "shoots like a horse."

There will be hope that if he plays today, he can showcase that thunderous Equine quality to fire Ten Hag one step closer to Champions League football.