OPINION
There will be few players in the West Ham squad who know the size of the task facing them on Saturday evening better than Javier Hernandez.
The little Mexican was a firm favourite at Manchester United for the five years he was there, and with club slowly beginning to resemble the formidable force of the Sir Alex Ferguson era once again, Hernandez will be fully aware of how much damage they could do to a West Ham side that has looked a fair way off its best in recent weeks.
But his former allegiances will not prevent him from wanting to make as big an impact as possible when the two sides square off at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
You would assume that the Reds will come out on top, and to be fair, you would probably assume that Hernandez won’t even start.
Monday night’s defeat to Chelsea shows just how easy it is to get overrun in the centre of the park against quality opposition.
The obvious remedy to that is to sacrifice a forward to bolster the engine room, and with Marko Arnautovic looking half decent for the first time in forever at against the Blues, Pellegrini is unlikely to give him the axe ahead of Hernandez.
That doesn’t mean that the Mexican can’t still make an impact.
During his time in Manchester he became renowned for popping up out of nowhere, usually late on, usually off the bench, and scoring vital goals.
If he doesn’t start, and the chances are he won’t, then the Hammers will be hoping that the 30-year-old can roll back the years to make a similarly stunning impact against his former side.
As while Hernandez has been inconsistent for his side this season and last, he still has the quality to make a difference on Saturday.
