Having spent hundreds of millions of pounds in the transfer window, the Manchester United board surely expected a better return than sixth place and six points adrift of the Champions League places.

For the first time this season, they have earned plaudits for their last two performances and come into this game brimming with confidence.

By contrast, West Ham are in desperate straits.

One point above the relegation zone and a horrible fixture list until Christmas; points are at a premium and they may view this as the one game to turn their season around.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Kermit the frog thought it wasn’t easy being green; Jose will tell you how hard it is being Mourinho.

The Special One’s sheen dimmed last season with the catastrophic failure at Stamford Bridge but the Portuguese has returned, as irascible as ever.

The Manchester United job is bigger than he first thought but he managed expectations in the summer when he said it would take two more transfer windows to perfect his squad. If his pay-off clause is big enough, he’ll get the time.

United’s form resurfaced at Swansea and stayed in town for the Arsenal game. Despite the late equaliser from Olivier Giroud, Mourinho must be pleased with his side’s overall performance.

A fleeting improvement or something of substance? The next three games will tell Mourinho something about his squad.

Zlatan returns this weekend and may provide more of a threat than Marcus Rashford in the centre but attention will turn to Wayne Rooney to see if his demotion really was due to a lack of pace.

Pivotal will be Michael Carrick. Receiving plaudits for his recent performances and calming influence in midfield, he faces his former club on Sunday without the need for any motivation to put in a good performance.

It’s a fixture United enjoy. In the twenty-three Premier League meetings at Old Trafford, they’ve lost twice, winning twenty. The only draw was last year’s 0 – 0 during Louis Van Gaal’s reign.

WEST HAM UNITED

New stadium syndrome. Only Arsenal seem to have avoided the worst of it and West Ham are enduring the worst of it.

The summer was farcical with target after target missed, capped off when record signing Andre Ayew injured before finishing the first half of his debut. It left them playing catch-up but the damage to their season was done with a run of four defeats in five which saw them ship fifteen goals.

A couple of quick wins over relegation rivals Crystal Palace and Sunderland were undone by three games without a win, including last weekend’s disastrous defeat at Tottenham. Two goals in two minutes from Harry Kane condemned the Hammers to a third match without a victory.

Things are getting desperate. In their next six games, they face three of the top six and two of the bottom three. They have to win the latter two games and try to get some points but if their defence continues to be leaky, there may be some fearful thrashings around the corner, starting with this match.

FORM (Last six games)

Manchester United - LWDLWD
West Ham United - WWWLDL

STATS

• Dmitri Payet and Wayne Rooney lead the club’s respective assists charts with four each

• The clubs have met twice before on 27th November. In 1976, West Ham won at Old Trafford and in 2005, Manchester United won at Upton Park.

• Jose Mourinho’s record against West Ham is W1, D1, L1.

• Anthony Martial has three shots on target against West Ham and scored with all of them.

• West Ham’s three wins at Old Trafford in the 21st Century have all been 1 – 0.

CURRENT MATCH ODDS [BEST PRICED ODDS]

Home: 1/2 (Bet Victor) - Bet Here!   Draw: 19/5 (Betfred) - Bet Here!      Away: 7/1 (Betfred) - Bet Here!

HEAD TO HEAD

Last six meetings
Date              Competition           Result
10/05/2016    Premier League      West Ham United     3 – 2     Manchester United
13/04/2016    FA Cup 6R              West Ham United     1 – 2    Manchester United
13/13/2016    FA Cup 6                Manchester United    1 – 1    West Ham United
05/12/2015    Premier League      Manchester United    0 – 0     West Ham United
08/02/2015    Premier League      West Ham United     1 – 1    Manchester United
27/09/2014    Premier League      Manchester United    2 – 1    West Ham United

SUMMING UP!

It’s a battle of wills: Manchester United must win, West Ham United mustn’t lose. Asking the Hammers to defend is like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas. In fact, there’s more chance of turkeys doing that than West Ham getting a clean sheet. Conceding fourteen goals away from home this season with just one clean sheet at Sunderland, is hardly inspiring. Looking at the respective clubs form this season and their likely line-ups, West Ham need a huge slice of luck – more than they’ve had all season – to get anything. Hard to see beyond a handsome United victory.

MY RECOMMENDED BETS

• Correct score, 3 – 0 to Manchester United (11/1 with Bet365) - Bet Here!

• Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score twice (9/2 with William Hill) - Bet Here!
  

• Manchester United to score 3+ goals (13/8 with Skybet) - Bet Here!
  

• West Ham United to score last goal (12/5 with Ladbrokes) - Bet Here!
  

• Ander Herrera anytime goalscorer (6/1 with Betfred) - Bet Here!

New Account Offer

Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply

Click to Claim