It will be a spectacle when Manchester United welcome Londoners West Ham to Old Trafford in the Premier League.
The Red Devils have had a roller-coaster campaign under Coach Erik Ten Hag, and at some point, it has been comical. Harry Maguire, one of the worst players at the club last season, has become one of the best players. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford, the leading man in attack, has dropped form so much that youngster Alejandro Garnacho has taken over his place in the starting eleven.
Manchester United's disappointing campaign started with their transfer decisions. Following the departures of Elanga, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly, and Mason Greenwood, Manchester United made strategic additions to their squad, welcoming Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Sofyan Amrabat, Johnny Evans, and Sergio Reguillon.
Their poor transfer decisions have haunted them this season, and that has seen them lose embarrassingly to teams like Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Brighton. The smaller teams have also eaten the cherry, with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Onana has been a shadow of the goalkeeper he was at Inter Milan, making some mistakes that cost the club.
Nonetheless, the Red Devils have also picked up a few decent results, beating Chelsea 2-1 and thrashing Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park.
On the other hand, West Ham, who sit three points behind Manchester as at the time this article was written, have had a decent campaign by their standards.
Under David Moyes' management, West Ham United made noteworthy additions to their squad. The summer by securing exciting midfield talent Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez from Ajax Amsterdam. They also acquired English dead-ball specialist James Ward-Prowse from relegated Southampton and Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from Bundesliga side VFB Stuttgart.
However, notable departures from the squad include former club captain Declan Rice, who moved to Arsenal for a club-record transfer fee. Gianluca Scamacca joined the Italian side of Atalanta, Nikola Vlasic transferred to Torino, Arthur Masuaku moved to Besiktas, and Manuel Lanzini left for River Plate on a free transfer.
Just like Manchester United, their results have been all over the place. But by their standards, it has been a decent season. The Hammers started their season with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.
Then they won their next three games against Chelsea, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Luton Town. But their run was halted by Manchester City, who defeated them 3-1 at the London Stadium. Moyes' lads have also suffered losses to Everton, Aston Villa, and Brentford.
The tie between Manchester United and West Ham has always been exciting to watch in recent years. But Manchester United has dominated most of the games.
In the last ten meetings between both clubs, Manchester United has won six times, West Ham has won just two, with the other two games ending in draws. The Red Devils have also dominated the goalscoring, netting twelve compared to West Ham's six.
But this season, Manchester United have scored fewer goals than West Ham. So, the game is finely poised.
Match tickets
The Old Trafford in Manchester epic match kicks off on Saturday, February 3rd, 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
United’s 74,031-capacity stadium will host this fixture between the Premier League strugglers.
Getting tickets for the Manchester United v West Ham United tickets could take a lot of work, given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expected to be sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
England forward Jadon Sancho is out of Manchester United's squad indefinitely following his issues with Coach Ten Hag. The former Borussia Dortmund star has not kicked a ball for the club since August 26.
Manchester have struggled this season, with many of their players suffering injuries. Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia are out indefinitely. But Mason Mount should be back in action just before the game.
Defensive midfielder and center-back Lisandro Martinez will also miss the game due to injuries. Ten Hag would have to manage without them.
Manchester United: Andre Onana; Harry Maguire, Johnny Evans, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Sofyan Amrabat; Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Rashford.
Coach David Moyes has a healthier squad to work with, and aside from Michail Antonio and Alphonso Areola, the other squad members are in perfect shape. Antonio will be back in time for the game, but it is unlikely that he will start. Areola should also return just in time for the game, but just in case he doesn't, West Ham have a great replacement in Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Emerson Palmieri, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Michail Antonio.
Prediction
With the season reaching its midpoint, both teams should start churning results to seal a spot in Europe. Manchester United and West Ham have leaked goals aplenty this season, but they have also scored many goals. That means both teams should be able to score in this one.
However, Manchester United could edge it because they will play in front of their home fans. But West Ham will draw inspiration from the fact that the Red Devils have lost four Premier League home games this season.
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
