West Ham United vs Manchester United

London Stadium forms the backdrop for a high-stakes Premier League showdown between out-of-sorts rivals West Ham United and Manchester United.

Only eight games into his new job at West Ham, Julen Lopetegui is an unpopular figure among club supporters. He was supposed to be an improvement on former boss David Moyes. However, after picking up just eight points from as many Premier League games (W2, D2, L2), he’s come under heavy scrutiny, especially following a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Tottenham last weekend. That same scoreline saw the Irons thump newly promoted Ipswich Town in their most recent home league outing, earning an opportunity to post back-to-back top-flight wins on home turf for the first time since December 2023. Encouragingly, the second triumph in that sequence came against none other than Manchester United, a side they’ve defeated ‘to nil’ in their last two home games at this venue.

Another fired blank would see the Red Devils go three consecutive visits to West Ham without scoring for the first time in their league history. That would likely be a hammer blow for under-fire boss Erik ten Hag after his downtrodden side posted a third draw in as many UEFA Europa League games this season on their midweek trip to Fenerbahce (1-1). On a more promising note, Manchester United halted a three-game winless Premier League run (D2, L1) with a come-from-behind 2-1 home triumph against Brentford last weekend. Yet to win consecutive league games this season, the visitors head to London determined to end an underwhelming streak of four successive away draws across all competitions and potentially claw their way into the top half of the standings.