Man Utd vs West Ham Preview: Classic Encounter, Team News, Prediction & More

Author:
90 Min
Publish date:
Aug 12, 2017

Manchester United and West Ham United begin their 2017/18 Premier League campaign with a meeting at Old Trafford on Sunday to round off the opening weekend of action.

The game will pit Jose Mourinho against Slaven Bilic, with the home side keen to make a strong start to their title challenge and the visitors keen to claim an early scalp.

Classic Encounter

They may be playing at Old Trafford on Sunday, but one of the most famous games in Premier League history was played between Manchester United and West at Upton Park in May 1995.

The 1-1 score-line is fairly unremarkable, but it was a clash that decided the fate of that season's Premier League title after United missed their chance to overtake Blackburn on the final day.

Alex Ferguson's team needed a win, while hoping that Liverpool would do them a favour and beat Blackburn at Anfield. The Merseysiders obliged, but United found Hammers goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko in inspired form, with Andrew Cole famously denied on several occasions.

With United unable to make the breakthrough, the trophy went to Blackburn instead.

Recent Form (pre-season & UEFA Super Cup)

Man Utd: LWWLDWWW (most recent result first)

West Ham: LDDLWL (most recent result first)

Team News

Man Utd: There are no new injury worries for Mourinho to contend with. Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Marcos Rojo remain sidelined, but Eric Bailly and Phil Jones are both available after European suspensions. There could be full league debuts for new signings Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, with Victor Lindelof a likely substitute.

West Ham: All of West Ham's summer signings are available but there will be no Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio, Andy Carroll or Cheikhou Kouyate, while Diafra Sakho is also set to be absent. Aaron Cresswell could be involved after returning to training on Friday.

Predicted Lineups

Man Utd (4-3-3): De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Blind; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mkhitaryan, Lukaku, Rashford

West Ham (4-2-3-1): Hart; Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Obiang; Ayew, Snodgrass, Arnautovic; Hernandez

Prediction

Assuming United have worked out how to overcome last season's weakness at home, their quality should be too much for West Ham. Lukaku has a fine previous scoring record against the Hammers with Everton and is likely to have plenty of chances to add to that tally.