David Moyes fears West Ham’s slim hopes of Champions League football could be affected further by Manchester United forced to field weakened teams.
The Hammers boss – whose men were beaten by Everton – has called on the Premier League to explain the questions surrounding the integrity of the competition being affected with United’s 3-1 win at Aston Villa their first of three games in five games.
Reds boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer is set to dip into his squad to face the Hammers’ top-four rivals Leicester on Tuesday after sealing a top four place.
Moyes said: “The Premier League should be answering these questions and tell us why this is the case.
“There was an awful lot of integrity needed to get the Premier League back up and running during the pandemic.
‘Ole can do what he likes. Its his team and his club. But I don’t know if there was a better way to sort the fixtures out.
“The Premier League have made that decision, I think Manchester United can always put out a strong team.”
Defeat for West Ham keeps them five points off fourth-placed Leicester with just three games left.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin struck in the 24th minute to boost his own side’s European ambitions with the Toffees now just three points behind the fifth-placed Hammers.
Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “The goal he scored is a goal of a top striker. Movement at the right time with a lot to speed and cold in front of the goalkeeper.
“A fantastic goal in that sense. He hasn’t scored a lot of goals like this. “Most them are from crosses or one touch in the box. This is the goal of a top striker.
“It was a vital victory. If we didn’t win we’d have been out of the fight for Europe. There was pressure on the game but we managed it well defensively and we were really good in counter-attack.”