Manchester United are back in Premier League action this weekend against West Ham and a victory at Old Trafford could extend their unbeaten record to eight across all competitions.
Three points would also lift the Red Devils into the top four, while West Ham will be eager to climb their way up as they’re currently sitting in mid-table.
United are coming off a convincing 3-0 win over Sheriff in the Europa League thanks to goals from Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo who has dominated the headlines in recent weeks after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham.
OPPOSITION
West Ham will be heading into this contest on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win over newly promoted Bournemouth last week. The Hammers’ season got off to a rocky start, but they have seemingly hit their stride with the introduction of new signings, namely Gianluca Scamacca whose explosiveness and clever movement in and around the penalty box are sure to cause problems for any defence.
However, West Ham have only managed to pick up three points in their last 14 Premier League visits to Old Trafford (D3 L11), with their last win coming in May 2007. In fact, they’ve been on the losing end of more away Premier League matches against United than they have against any other side in the competition (21).
Keeping clean sheets away from home has been a struggle for David Moyes’ men in recent times, having only kept two clean sheets in their last 17 top-flight games on the road and have won just two of their last 14 away matches (D2 L10).
Moyes will most likely opt for a 4-2-3-1 system with Lukasz Fabianski in between the sticks, behind a back four of Ben Johnson, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer and Aaron Cresswell. Zouma is certainly one to watch when it comes to set plays as among players who have at least 10 Premier League goals to their name, he has scored the highest percentage with his head (91%, 10 out of 11).
A double pivot of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice will provide a safety blanket in transition which should spark an intriguing midfield battle with Casemiro. The front three would likely consist of Jarrod Bowen, Flynn Downes, and Said Benrahma who is hoping to stake his claim in the starting line-up in the absence of Lucas Paqueta and Maxwel Cornet, while Scamacca is likely to start up top.
manchester united
Erik ten Hag can take confidence from his side’s Europa League victory as they proved they can penetrate low defensive blocks. United’s last Premier League game against Chelsea which ended in a 1-1 draw was also a fine performance.
There’s no doubt that United have been lacking bite in the final third despite being able to create ample goalscoring opportunities.
However, there are plenty of positives to take away from the fluid attacking football we’ve seen in recent matches and United’s home form has drastically improved as they’ve lost just one of their last 14 Premier League matches at Old Trafford (W8 D5), losing six out of 13 beforehand. A win will see United secure three consecutive home clean sheets for the first time since June 2020 (a run of four).
line-up
It’ll be intriguing to see who starts in this match, particularly in the attacking department as Alejandro Garnacho’s promising performance against Sheriff has given Ten Hag a new selection headache.
Deciding whether to start Marcus Rashford in the No.9 position is another tough decision to make with Ronaldo vying for a spot back in the line-up.
United have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in recent matches with David de Gea in net, Diego Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw in defence with Raphael Varane expected to remain on the sidelines until the World Cup has wrapped up.
Casemiro is now one of the first names on the team sheet and it seems as though Ten Hag is still trying to determine who he should partner. However, Christian Eriksen arguably warrants a start as he had the most touches (131), accurate passes (105), passes in the final third (69), final third entries (most), possession won (8), crosses (7) and chance creation (6) in the match against Sheriff.
Bruno Fernandes will fill the No.10 spot as he has created more chances than any other United player in the Premier League this season (28), with only Rashford registering more shots than the Portuguese playmaker (28).
If Garnacho doesn’t start in place of Antony or Jadon Sancho, he should make a cameo in some of the matches to provide a new dimension and spark to the forward line.
While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ronaldo selected, Ten Hag choose Rashford to lead the line based on current form.
score prediction
West Ham are tough opposition who are chasing a spot in the top half of the table this season and can exploit holes in United’s defence, particularly in wide areas. However, United have got the better of West Ham in their last four Premier League meetings which is their best winning run against the Hammers since a run of eight between 2008 and 2012. Moyes has also never managed to win an away game against United in the Premier League drawing four and losing 11 of his 15 visits. With that in mind, I’m going to predict a 3-2 win for United.