Manchester United continue their pursuit for the top four places in the Premier League against West Ham in their third home game this month.
Erik Ten Hag’s side drew 1-1 with Chelsea last weekend in the league but managed a 3-0 victory against Sheriff in the Europa League on the same night West Ham registered a 1-0 over Silkeborg in the Conference League to back their 2-0 result against Bournemouth on Tuesday.
MUN vs WHU Match Details
Date: Sunday, 30 October 2022
Time: 21:45 (IST)
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
MUN vs WHU Match Preview
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting eleven and on the scoresheet with Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford netting before him in the 3-0 victory over Sheriff in the Europa League at Old Trafford to create a showdown with Real Sociedad next week to be the group winners. The Portuguese was left out of the squad last weekend after refusing to come on as a substitute against Spurs a week ago walking completely out of the Stadium before the final whistle. With his situation now sorted, Manchester United can now fully focus on the next game at home facing a West Ham team on their upside without any negativity surrounding the squad. The 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge was a lost chance for Erik Ten Hag’s side to go above Chelsea on the table and were only saved from a defeat by an injury-time leveler from Casemiro pouncing on a Luke Shaw cross only minutes after Jorginho gave the Blues the lead from the penalty spot. With Chelsea losing to Brighton on Saturday on manager Graham Potter’s return to the AMEX, Manchester United will get the opportunity to overtake the Blues finally with a victory against the Hammers although Newcastle winning on the same day keeps them a point away from the fourth spot in that scenario. Erik Ten Hag is willing to take the challenge because of Red Devil’s excellent record at Old Trafford having not lost a game since the opening day 2-1 loss to the Seagulls this season and in the last 14 matches. They have also not lost to West Ham at home since 2008 including a win in the last three meetings at this ground. In the two Premier League games before the World Cup break, United face Aston Villa and Fulham both on the travels. So a win in the last home game leading up to the showpiece event in Qatar, at a time the team will get disassembled, will do them loads of good. The Dutch manager will wish nothing but to extend their seven games unbeaten run on Sunday with a second win in the Premier League this month.
David Moyes will visit Old Trafford as West Ham manager for the fourth time asking for a win this time out in the Premier League with the Hammers able to refigure themselves this month with three wins out of five games and only losing to Liverpool at Anfield. The away form though remains to be sorted with no wins in last four since a 1-0 triumph over Aston Villa at the end of August. They managed to score only twice in this period and conceded five struggling in both areas of the pitch. Like the previous season, West Ham had to balance league football with ventures in Europe and it has been a factor again for their inconsistency. In the Conference League, it has not been an issue as West Ham have taken maximum points from their five group games played so far which included a 1-0 win over Danish side Silkeborg on Thursday. Manchester United will be their last away game in the Premier League before the World Cup break with Crystal Palace and Leicester City to face at home after this clash. Therefore, Moyes will hope for a positive result this weekend to put an end to their dismal record in away games and carry on their momentum of climbing up the table. The Hammers are in the 12th spot on the standings with 14 points, six points a drift from a top-six place. In addition to their poor return at Old Trafford, the problem for West Ham is they have taken only a point against the current top-six holders this season which could hinder them from retaining European football if they fail to win the Conference League next year. Also, there will be key players in the team competing for the mid-season World Cup in Qatar and their fitness could be a factor in deciding their season as for most other teams in the Premier League. For now, West Ham wishes to repeat the win they had over the Red Devils in their backyard in the FA Cup last year with Manuel Lanzini scoring the only goal in 1-0 win.
Recent Form (all competitions)
MUN: WDWDW
WHU: WWLDW
Recent Form (league)
MUN: DWDWL
WHU: WLDWW
MUN vs WHU Team News
Manchester United were able to callback Donny van de Beek and Harry Maguire from their respective injuries as they got some minutes on the pitch in the 3-0 win against Sheriff. Erik Ten Hag hopes Anthony Martial will also be in the mix before the World Cup break with the Frenchman’s season disrupted due to a series of injuries. Raphael Varane will be unavailable to be in action for the club till the World Cup with a leg injury picked up against Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the team following his absence from the game last weekend for disciplinary reasons and started another Europa League game. He will return to the bench at the weekend despite United’s forward finding it tough to find the back of the net in recent Premier League games. A scorer in the win, Marcus Rashford will continue to lead the line.
For West Ham, Nayef Aguerd made his long-awaited debut for the Hammers in the Europa League game on Thursday against Silkeborg after returning from an ankle injury he sustained during the pre-season. He played for 76 minutes in the game and is in contention to make the trip to Old Trafford on Sunday. Craig Dawson (leg) and Lucas Paqueta (shoulder) will be back within a few days from their respective injuries while Maxwel Cornet has suffered a setback in his recovery from a calf injury.
MUN vs WHU Predicted Lineups
MUN: De Gea; Diogo Dalot, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Christian Eriksen; Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho; Marcus Rashford
WHU: Lukasz Fabianski; Ben Johnson, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Cresswell; Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice; Jarrod Bowen, Flynn Downes, Said Benrahma; Gianluca Scamacca
MUN vs WHU Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: De Gea (7)
DEF: Dalot (8.5), Zouma (7.5), L Martinez (7.5)
MID: Antony (9), Eriksen (8), Rice (9), B Fernandes (8.5),
FW: Bowen (9), Rashford (9)
Vice-captain: Bruno Fernandes
Captain: Marcus Rashford
