West Ham vs. Manchester United
Manchester United will look to build on their strong start to the 2021-22 Premier League season when they travel to West Ham United on Sunday.
West Ham United
West Ham played a stronger team than expected against Dinamo Zagreb in their Europa League group game on Thursday night.
Kurt Zouma impressed on his West Ham debut against Dinamo Zagreb and is vying for a starting spot against Manchester United on Sunday.
Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna did not play in midweek, so it would be unfair to leave one of them out here. Moyes could also go with a back three.
On Sunday, West Ham suffered a major setback when Michail Antonio was suspended. As a result, Jarrod Bowen is expected to play centrally.
Manchester United
Jadon Sancho appears to be in disarray at the moment, so it will be interesting to see if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sticks with him against West Ham.
Jesse Lingard will be desperate to face his former club, but his confidence will be shot following his costly error in midweek.
On Tuesday, Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off in the Champions League, and Diogo Dalot is now putting pressure on him to take his place.
On Thursday, Scott McTominay returned to training with Alex Telles. It would not be surprising to see the former enter the starting XI on Sunday. Fred and Nemanja Matic are also options.
Prediction
West Ham will be buoyed by their 2-0 win away to Dinamo Zagreb to kick off their Europa League campaign. However, David Moyes’ side was stronger than expected, so the big question now is how his players will cope with a Thursday-Sunday schedule they aren’t used to.
Manchester United were shamed 2-1 away to Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under fire for his tactics. West Ham have only played well in patches this season, so there is reason to believe they can win even without star striker Michail Antonio.West Ham have made significant progress under David Moyes, but qualifying for the Europa League comes at a cost of less rest and more travel. And, with the Hammers kicking off their European adventure in Zagreb on Thursday night, their performance in this game is likely to suffer as a result. United, still stinging from their defeat in Switzerland, will have a point to prove, and they will make it..
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Fredericks, Zouma, Ogbonna, Johnson; Kral, Noble; Yarmolenko, Vlasic, Bowen; Bowen
Man United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Varane, Shaw; Pogba, Matic; Sancho, Fernandes, Greenwood; Ronaldo
Our Prediction: West Ham 1 – 2 Manchester United