Van Persie can win title for United - Sam

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce believes Robin van Persie could make the difference in this season's Premier League title battle.

The Dutchman scored his 12th goal of the season just 33 seconds into Manchester United's encounter with the Hammers at Old Trafford.

"Manchester United have lots of players who will have good spells and can come up trumps when they need them to," said Allardyce. "Robin van Persie is a quality player and we have largely kept him quiet. But he will score 20 goals for Manchester United, maybe 30. In the end that is normally the difference."

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