The Premier League will set Manchester United against West Ham United on the afternoon of Saturday, September 27 at Old Trafford. Both sides are among the eight current clubs to have never gone below tier two of English football so you can expect a game that is thrilling by all standards. The Red Devils will be playing at home this Saturday afternoon. Comparing the two sides with respect to their larger league victories, we’d say Man United has the upper hand. Unlike Man U, West Ham have never won a Premier League title and have pretty much been the underdogs. In the League this season, they are unbeaten however, having won at Crystal Palace and tied at Hull.
Placing large wagers on Man United for this meeting could be risky however. The Red Devils are facing their worst start to the League in over a decade. They’ve been impaled by the Foxes last week, after an earlier defeat in a League game. After five matches this season, they have managed to score only five points and are currently 12th on the table. Manager Louis van Gall is desperate for a win.
The Irons on the other hand, head to Old Trafford with the momentous Upton Park victory where they slayed the Reds with a 3-1 win. The men of Sam Allardyce, who were largely invisible before their clash with Liverpool are now going to have a larger number of backers. Their confidence for Saturday’s game has also been bolstered by the injured Red Devils. The absence of Jonny Evans, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick, Chris Smalling, Sam Johnstone, James Wilson and Phil Jones will weaken Man United’s defense and open up new opportunities for the Hammers to rise from the underdog status.
Again, choosing a favorite for a win at Old Trafford is going to be a tricky affair, because the Hammers don’t have home-playing advantage they had against Liverpool. West Ham will not be as adventurous and fast as they were against the Reds. Further, the Hammers couldn’t keep a clean sheet. United have won their last game at Trafford this season, which is also the only game they’ve won. If you compare their scores in all meetings and not just the League ones, the Red Devils have defeated the Hammers seven times in a row.
Expect the match to go over two and a half goals when the Hammers meet the Red Devils. While the former have averaged at one goal a match only, (for the last 18 games that were played at Man United’s home ground), the latter have a scored a total of seven goals in their two matches. They also have a strong lineup to master the attack and score.
Expect Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Falcao to score and take the total to three scores. One of Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho or Morgan Amalfitano can be expected to hit the target for the Hammers as well. The Hammers have never made more than one goal at Old Trafford. That would bring the game to a 3-1 win for the Red Devils.