Manchester United are set for another trip outside of Manchester, this time all the way to London, where they will face West Ham and their former manager David Moyes. Here is everything you need to know before the Saturday’s early kick-off clash.
Team News
Looking at West Ham’s situation, they will not have as many problems as United. Michail Antonio has a long-term knee problem which is why he is expectedly out, but that should be about it. Nayef Aguerd and Maxwel Cornet recuperated from their illness and should be back in the team, while Moyes should make a lot of changes to the team that played against Liverpool. All off Lukasz Fabianski, Lucas Paqueta, Kurt Zouma, James Ward-Prowse and Emerson Palmieri should be back in the starting lineup, while it will be interesting to see how former Ajax man Mohammed Kudus will fare against United, the team that was linked with him over the last summer.
As for United, things are usually tough for Ten Hag. Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Tyrell Malacia are out and will give the manager headaches in terms of personnel available for the back four, while Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Mason Mount are also limiting options in midfield. Amad Diallo and Jadon Sancho are also out, while Anthony Martial could be back in the matchday squad following illness.
Form Guide
Man United are in great need of getting the three points, after their recent results continued to deteriorate. Following the 2-1 win against Chelsea, when many hoped that could be a start of something good from Erik Ten Hag’s team, things have gone the other way around. A 3-0 loss against Bournemouth at Old Trafford was painful to watch, while the 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich was as expected as anything, resulting in the Red Devils’ end of European campaign.
This was followed by last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool, but United are without a goal scored ever since that Scott McTominay brace 16 days ago. No top-half Premier League team scores as infrequently as United and that must change against West Ham.
The Hammers, on the other hand, have been doing great this season. Clearly, that cannot be said of their 1-5 defeat at Anfield in the League Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday, or their unexpected 0-5 against Fulham two weeks ago, but everything in between was really good for David Moyes’ side.
West Ham defeated Wolves 3-0, Freiburg 2-0 in the Europa League, and had beaten Tottenham, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Olympiakos and Arsenal – all since the start of November. That is far more wins for the Hammers than for United in the same period. Couple that with United’s often struggles at the London Stadium and you get why this is such a tricky trip for Ten Hag’s team.
Predicted Outcome
Considering everything, we predict Manchester United will get a 1-1 draw against West Ham. The Devils are struggling so much this season, the Hammers know how to play against the ‘big six’ teams this season and have already beaten Man United at home this year (1-0 in May).
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