England Premier League
Saturday 23rd December 2023
Kick off at 12:30pm GMT
Venue: London Stadium
Match Preview:
Take out a 5-0 hammering at Fulham and West Ham’s form has remained stable in the Premier League this past month. There has been just that one loss against the Cottagers and the Hammers find themselves in 8th place with 27 points and would go past Manchester United with a victory at home.
Last weekend West Ham comfortably beat Wolves here 3-0 and those are the type of results that Hammers fans still gloat over. Any long suffering fan will know that it is games against the likes of Wolves that in the past no matter if at home would have ended in defeat. David Moyes can cut a frustrating style of football at times but the club look in good hands with the veteran Scotman. At home the club have been able to win 50% of their games and that should be slightly higher and they have lost twice here so far, although it’s been almost two months since that happened when Everton won. In midweek though there was a setback as West Ham were dumped out of the EFL Cup at the quarter final stage after a 5-1 loss at Liverpool.
Manchester United’s form is erratic with 7 points won from the last 15 and while that isn’t the worst for a club of United’s standards they remain underwhelming. A recent result at home ended in a terrible 3-0 loss against Bournemouth and change was needed. Manager Erik ten Hag had to play a tactical game as his club came up away to Liverpool last weekend, in the fixture from last season Liverpool won 7-0 and Ten Hag knew that little had changed since then for both clubs. So United did what they rarely do and defended and absorbed the game and came for the point. They got it. In the end it has to be said that this was a great point for the Red Devils and it showed another side to them, if they can keep a clean sheet against Liverpool they can keep a clean sheet against anyone. Let it be noted that this was the first league game for Liverpool not to have scored a goal since last April. The 0-0 draw also ended the Reds 100% win rate at home.
For United there is a long, long way to go of course but they will be looking at 4th place and thinking they are six points from that target, it’s a gap but it can be shortened and time is on their hands. However with 9 wins and 7 defeats United are not consistent and that doesn’t look like improving anytime soon. Away from home Manchester United have won four from eight games played although they have gone their last two matches without wins after the draw against Liverpool and a 1-0 loss to Newcastle. Goals on the road remain a big problem for Ten Hag’s side and when you look at the goalscoring quality it is shocking to see that they have only managed 8 goals so far, for example only four clubs have scored fewer, those are the current bottom three and Nottingham Forest.
Team News:
West Ham: The Hammers only injury concern is Michail Antonio ahead of the game who has been missing for several weeks with a knee injury. He remains a doubt to return but could be assessed.
Manchester United: Diego Dalot is suspended after his sending off last weekend. Christian Eriksen, Amad Diallo and Victor Lindelof will all be assessed but remain doubtful. Anthony Martial could return from illness, this game is expected to come too soon for Mason Mount with his calf injury. Casemiro, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez all remain out and are not expected back until next month. Jadon Sancho remains unavailable for selection.
West Ham vs Man Utd Head to Head:
Last season West Ham won this fixture 1-0.
Manchester United have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.
There is a 70% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
West Ham vs Man Utd Prediction:
Despite recent good form the 5-1 heavy loss in midweek to Liverpool in the EFL Cup has raised questions about David Moyes once again- the fans want to see fight and passion even in the games where the club could be expected to lose. Moyes did make some changes and has bemoaned the short turnaround time between that midweek fixture and this lunch time one for Saturday. West Ham of course have been in Manchester United’s shadow for a long time and even in the last decade when we haven’t witnessed the best of the Red Devils they have kept up a good record over the Hammers.
United do remain unpredictable though and without home advantage, this becomes a far more even game than if it was at Old Trafford. We think West Ham represent good value as we are able to back them and still cover the draw on the refund. We expect to see a far better performance from West Ham compared to the one in midweek.
West Ham vs Man Utd Betting Tips:
Draw no bet (West Ham) at 1.91
A player to be sent off at 5.00
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