Anthony Martial has warned that Manchester United need to deal with West Ham United's long balls forward when the two sides meet in their FA Cup quarterfinal replay on Wednesday night.
France forward Martial scored for United in the initial Cup meeting between the teams on March 13, as his equaliser salvaged a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. West Ham had taken the lead through a free kick by Frenchman Dimitri Payet, who is a friend of Martial.
Martial told MUTV: "West Ham are a difficult side to play against. They play a lot of long balls up to their front men, so we have to make sure we defend well against that and then our forwards can do the rest. If we play well, there's no reason why we can't win."
The 20-year-old also spoke about his friendship with Payet, who he recently linked up with during the international break with France.
Payet scored a 35-yard free kick -- within two minutes of coming on as a substitute -- in a 4-2 win against Russia at the Stade de France on March 29.
Martial said: "Payet just came here this season and he's really impressed everyone, but I was already aware of the ability he had, given that he used to play in the French league and he's also a mate of mine."