Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal labelled West Ham United a physical side to explain his team selection against them on Wednesday night.
Forward Anthony Martial had said that West Ham were a long-ball team in the build-up to the clash between the sides in their FA Cup quarterfinal at Upton Park.
Van Gaal made two changes to the starting line-up from the 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Both were in midfield with Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera coming in for Morgan Schneiderlin and Juan Mata.
The United manager told MUTV pre-match: "West Ham are a very physical side -- that's why I have chosen Fellaini and Herrera."
Louis van Gaal to #MUTV: "West Ham are a very physical side - that's why I have chosen Fellaini and Herrera." #mufc
- Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 13, 2016
He denied that Fellaini had been picked to give special attention to Andy Carroll though, explaining: "Fellaini cannot mark a player like Carroll -- that is for [Chris] Smalling. He is our best header. [Marcos] Rojo is also a very good header.
"I believe we have played a lot of times against West Ham and not always Carroll is scoring.
"It is a big night for the club, the players and the fans. This is the last title we can win. It is a massive game."
Wayne Rooney was named on the bench for the West Ham game. The striker has not played for the first team since featuring in the 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on Feb 13 when he completed 90 minutes.
He played an hour, as an overage player, for the Under 21s in their 1-0 win against Middlesbrough Under 21s at Old Trafford on Monday night.