West Ham v Man Utd – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

West Ham host Man Utd at the London Stadium on Sunday evening in the English Premier League. David Moyes has just one win in 12 matches against the Red Devils since they sacked him. With three defeats in a row, they are in relegation trouble but they face a fatigued Manchester United side here.

West Ham Form

David Moyes’ side sit on 34 points with a four-point buffer to the relegation zone. They’ve lost their last three league matches. A 2-1 home loss to Liverpool saw them concede 20 shots. A 4-3 defeat at Crystal Palace saw them fall apart with three goals leaked in 16 first-half minute minutes. In midweek, they made life awkward for Man City but it was precession once they fell behind in the 49^th minute.

Prior to this losing streak, they had lost just once in 10 matches across the league and UEFA Europa Conference League. That run saw them beat Southampton 1-0 and Bournemouth 4-0 in key relegation tussles. They also came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Arsenal and two ties in Europe, vs AEK Larnaca (6-0 aggregate) and Gent (5-2 aggregate). Aside from a 5-1 home loss to Newcastle, they were finding some consistency. It proved a false dawn.

West Ham Team News

The Hammers have some headaches ahead of this match. Kurt Zouma injuring his ankle is a major blow. Gianluca Scamacca remains out injured but he would wasn’t a regular starter anyway. Vladimir Coufal hurt his hamstring vs City so Ben Johnson will start.

In midweek, all of Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice and Nayef Aguerd missed out due to illness. David Moyes will hope the trio can return. He must decide whether to use a back five as he did against Man City or switch to a back four.

West Ham Motivation

Moyes played very defensively in midweek, defending in a 5-4-1 with even Antonio dropping back to thicken midfield. For this match, a different approach is expected.

At home, and against a tired opponent (and Moyes’ former club), West Ham will play a high-energy game and look for three points.

Man Utd Form

Man Utd are in quite poor form right now. Their last seven fixtures have seen them lose twice and win just twice. On the road, it’s three defeats in five away Premier League matches. After cruising to a 2-0 win at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, they were thrashed 3-0 away to Sevilla.

A FA Cup win on penalties vs Brighton followed a 0-0 draw after extra time. At Spurs in their next match, they led 2-0 but could only draw 2-2 after a shoddy second half. They beat Aston Villa 1-0 after again dropping them level after half-time. On Thursday, they lost 1-0 to a 99th-minute penalty at Brighton.

Man Utd Team News

This match comes just two rest days after losing at Brighton. Erik Ten Hag may be forced to freshen up his side. Harry Maguire is a candidate to start with both Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane out injured. Luke Shaw could revert to left-back.

Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek are out injured in midfield. Christian Eriksen and Marcel Sabitzer are fully fresh and could come into the side for Fred and Antony. Anthony Martial was ineffective in midfield and could drop to the bench with either Jadon Sancho or Wout Weghorst coming in.

Man Utd Motivation

United’s defeat on Thursday means their lead over Liverpool is just four points. That could be closed to one point on Saturday if Klopp’s team win. That would pile pressure on the Red Devils but it could focus minds too.

They will play to win this match but a draw isn’t a disaster with a game in hand.

Key Stats

West Ham have conceded 9 goals in their last 3 home matches (PL)

West Ham have lost their last 3 matches

West Ham have lost their last 5 league matches vs Man Utd

Man Utd have kept a league-high 15 clean sheets this season

Man Utd have conceded 32 goals in 17 away EPL matches this season

Man Utd have lost 3 of their last 5 away league matches (LLWDL)

Verdict

David Moyes has a bad record against his former club. West Ham are leaky at the back right now but they face a United side who are losing regularly on the road and conceding goals regularly on their travels. A home win is quite possible here.

Best Bet: West Ham win/draw double chance at 1.76

Alternative Bet: Both Teams to Score + No Draw at 2.25

Value Bet: West Ham win at 3.30

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis