West Ham vs Manchester United
England Premier League.
Date: Monday, 2nd January 2017,
Kick-off at 17:15 UK.
West Ham may have failed to win a 4th consecutive match on Saturday when they drew with Arsenal, but a 3-3 draw to the Gunners isn’ta result to be ashamed of. In fact, they will have taken many positives from the match, especially Andy Carroll’s superb hat trick.
However, their defence is an issue at the moment. They were shown to be one of the hardest teams in the league to break down earlier in the season, but they have conceded seven goals in their last three games and haven’t kept a clean sheet in five attempts.
West Ham’s draw on Saturday has left them five points adrift of a top four spot in the Premier League, and their unlikely dream of Champions League football is fading. They will now turn their attention firmly towards the FA Cup.
Manchester United once again showed how far they have dropped in the last few years with a 3-0 hammering by Spurs on Sunday. Despite them trailing for much of the second half they still couldn’t muster any sort of attacking intent, and they finished the game with just a single shot on target registered.
This ended their four match unbeaten streak in all competitions and saw them drop to four points adrift of Manchester City. They have lost five of their last seven away games in all competitions as well and they are facing the prospect of having to beat a West Ham side who haven’t lost at Upton Park since August.
West Ham are by far the better team in terms of form coming into this match, and even with their recent poor defensive displays I think they have the beating of the meagre Manchester United attack. This, along with Manchester United’s poor away record, makes odds of 4/5 for West Ham to Qualify excellent odds. I’m going for a 1-0 West Ham win at 7/1 as well.
HEAD TO HEAD
The last three meetings between West Ham and Manchester United have ended as draws, with Manchester United winning the three prior to that run. West Ham haven’t won a meeting since 2010.
WEST HAM VS MANCHESTER UNITED STATS
Manchester United have lost 41% of their away games this season.
WEST HAM TEAM NEWS
Sam Byram and James Collins are edging closer to fitness again, but they are unlikely to be ready for this one.
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS
Adnan Januzaj, Bastan Schweinsteiger, Will Keane, and Luke Shaw all remain sidelined. Wayne Rooney is close to a return though.
WEST HAM VS MANCHESTER UNITED PREDICTIONS 1-1