Prediction and odds for the game: West Ham (13/5) v Manchester United (evens)
We are backing the away win
When: Saturday, 5th December 2020, Kick-off 17:30
Where: The London Stadium
On Saturday evening, West Ham host Manchester United at the London Stadium, as both teams look to push into the Premier League’s Champions League spots.
West Ham
The Hammers head into this clash on a positive run of form. In fact, a 2-1 win last time out against Aston Villa was the home side’s third straight Premier League win. The victory moved David Moyes’ team up to fifth-place, just four points off the top of the table and one outside the Champions League spots.
A key to West Ham’s recent good form has been that the team from the capital have conceded just once in their winning run. There has been a defensive improvement for Moyes’ team of late. That defensive solidity will no doubt face a challenge against the dangerous visitors.
The Irons recent home form has also been good, as they are unbeaten in four Premier League games at the London Stadium, having recorded three victories in the process. The Hammers have also lost just one of their last seven home games in the top-flight.
Manchester United
The Red Devils looked to have found a bit of consistency of late before a 3-1 midweek defeat against PSG in the Champions League. The game saw Brazilian midfielder Fred dismissed. The defeat against the Parisian’s ended a four-game winning run for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.
The game also ended a prolific run of form for Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who had scored six goals in his previous four appearances for the Red Devils. The former Sporting Lisbon has become the Red Devils key player when it comes to attacking play.
Fernandes recent form has played a big role in United moving up to ninth-place in the table. A victory in this clash is likely to leapfrog Solskjaer’s team up the table, as they are currently just three points behind third-place Chelsea, with a game in-hand.
Despite their mixed recent form of late, Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 11 away matches in the Premier League. A 3-2 win at Southampton in their last top-flight game on their travels also means that United have recorded eight straight league wins away from home, while also scoring at least twice in all eight of the wins.
One possible cloud for United is a that England forward Marcus Rashford is a doubt for this clash after picking up a knock against PSG in midweek.
Conclusion
West Ham are performing well above expectations this season. They have been in good form of late, although they were slightly fortunate to defeat Villa last time out. The Hammers are certainly tougher beat nowadays under Moyes, who faces one of his former clubs.
However, Manchester United seem to thrive on their travels and we believe they will continue their highly impressive recent away run in this fixture. The other bet we recommend is over 2.5 goals scored, as even without Marcus Rashford United are strong going forward, while the Hammers could cause the visitors problems in defence.
Verdict: We are backing the away win at evens and/or over 2.5 goals scored at odds 8/11 (All odds are taken from Bet365).
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Which United will come out on top at the London Stadium this weekend?
