After losing their opening four Premier League games of the new season, despite recruiting a Premier League winning manager and spending big over the summer, there were understandable murmurs of discontent emanating from the tense London Stadium. Could this be yet another season of failure and disappointment for The Hammers?
Well, it certainly could be, but they have gone some way to repairing that early damage done over the last couple of weeks. First, they managed to lay a claim to their first points of the season with an impressive 3-1 win over the equally disappointing Everton, and they followed that with an unusually solid defensive display when they played host to Chelsea last weekend.
West Ham got a goalless draw from that game, which showed a very capable defensive side to their game that had eluded them previously. They gained yet more confidence in midweek as they obliterated Macclesfield 8-0 in the Carabao Cup, and they will be entering this match in high spirits.
Manchester United, on the other hand, will not be entering the game with the same high hopes. They fell to a penalty defeat against Derby in midweek, following on from their 1-1 draw at home to Wolves last weekend. They have won just three of their six Premier League outings this season, and the tension between players, fans, and manager alike is reaching a boiling point.
Shortly before the encounter with Derby it was revealed that Jose Mourinho had told Paul Pogba that he will never captain Manchester United again, a response to some ill considered statements from Pogba that seem to not-so-subtly scathe Mourinho’s tactics. The dispute between Pogba and Mourinho will do nothing but harm Manchester United’s performances on the pitch.
This is an interesting side plot, but as far as the actual game goes we’re not expecting much in the way of goals. West Ham are likely to set up with their backs to the wall like they did against Chelsea, and two of their three home games this season have seen fewer than three goals. The Hammers have scored just one league goal at the London Stadium this season, so backing Under 2.5 Goals here along with a 1-1 draw looks a good choice.