Manchester United welcome West Ham on Sunday following the Red Devils’ reinvigorating win against Feyenoord in Europa League.
United’s 4-0 win was the largest of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford so far but it was the performance as much as the result that will inspire supporters.
Slaven Bilic’s side come into the game after a demoralising 3-2 defeat to Tottenham last week and the Hammers are hovering above the relegation zone before their trip to the Theatre of Dreams.
Both sides are in desperate need of the win and, with Old Trafford’s game the first of two clashes between the sides in four days, expect fireworks.
It’s a big game for Wayne Rooney.
The 31-year-old’s struggled for form so far this term and has only started one Premier League match since being dropped in late September.
However, Rooney’s started in two out of United’s last three matches and he showed against Swansea and Feyenoord that he’s close to recapturing his form.
The England captain came in for huge criticism over a drinking controversy during the international break but he blasted his critics after an emphatic performance in the Europa League.
Rooney scored one and assisted another against Feyenoord and, though he’s not guaranteed to start against West Ham, he would be desperately unlucky not to feature.
Kick Off
Old Trafford plays host to the clash between Manchester United and West Ham on Sunday, November 27. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:30pm GMT/5:30 BST/10:00 IST.
Team News
Manchester United – Manchester United looked much improved in attacking areas during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial adding pace to Mourinho’s frontline. However Zlatan Ibrahimovic, suspended for the clash with the Gunners, is likely to return as the central striker.
Michael Carrick looks set to continue in midfield whilst, with Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling still injured, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo will continue as centre-backs.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan impressed in a first Manchester United start in two months and will hope he has done enough to earn a spot in Mourinho’s league XI whilst captain Wayne Rooney was similarly impressive.
West Ham United – Slaven Bilic will once more find himself without centre-back Winston Reid after the centre-back picked up a red card in the sixth minute of stoppage time during West Ham’s 3-2 loss at Tottenham, meaning James Collins will once more step into the Hammers back three.
Further forward there are unlikely to be radical changes from the side that led against Spurs until the 89th minute, meaning Diafra Sakho is likely to be preferred to Simone Zaza as the sole striker, with Andy Carroll still sidelined with a knee injury.
Turkish winger Gokhan Tore could recover from a thigh strain in time for the trip to Manchester though he is unlikely to feature in Bilic’s starting XI.
Predicted Line-ups
Manchester United 4-2-3-1: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw; Carrick, Herrera; Mata, Pogba, Rashford; Ibrahimovic
West Ham 3-4-2-1: Adrian; Kouyate, Collins, Ogbonna; Antonio, Obiang, Lanzini, Cresswell; Ayew, Payet; Sakho
Key Stats
Manchester United have lost just two of their last 23 league games against West Ham at Old Trafford, winning 20 (D1).
West Ham haven’t won at Old Trafford since their 1-0 victory in May 2007, in which Carlos Tevez found the net to help the Hammers avoid relegation. They’ve lost eight of their 10 meetings in all competitions since there.
Mourinho has won seven of his previous nine Premier League matches against West Ham (D1 L1), losing 1-2 at Upton Park to Slaven Bilic’s Hammers.
In each of his five full Premier League seasons as a manager, Mourinho’s league placing after 12 games has been his final league placing that season. Manchester United are currently sixth in 2016-17 after 12 games.
Anthony Martial has scored with all three of his shots on target for Manchester United against West Ham in all competitions.
Rooney has been directly involved in 14 goals in his last 13 appearances against West Ham in all competitions (11 goals, three assists), but hasn’t scored or assisted in his last three.
Dimitri Payet has created a league-high 43 goalscoring chances this season in the Premier League, but only four of these chances have been converted by the Hammers.
Manchester United have attempted 203 shots in total this season in the Premier League. After 12 league games last season, United had attempted 80 shots fewer (123).
Betting Odds
Manchester United to win: 4/9
Draw: 7/2
West Ham to win: 13/2
Predictions
Manchester United have to win this and it’s a fact that they played well last week against Arsenal – actually, they should have won.
West Ham were 2-1 up with a minute to go against Tottenham, but still managed to go and get beaten 3-2. Along with where they are in the league, still we are going for United to win.
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham