Manchester United look to gain some form as they host West Ham at Old Trafford in hopes of staying in the race for top 4.
Currently in the table, Manchester United are 6th and are in a must win situation here as they are 3 points behind 4th placed Tottenham which means that they simply cannot afford to drop anymore points especially with just 6 games remaining. Meanwhile, West Ham are 11th and aren’t exactly playing for anything else other than pride so this game definitely has bigger importance for the hosts which could be seen as an advantage for them.
Form wise, neither team are playing good football at the moment. Manchester United have lost 4 of their last 5 games in all competitions and although they put up a decent fight against Barcelona this midweek, they still lost 0-1 and didn’t exactly create many chances. The wheels have fallen off a little lately for United and they just haven’t been playing anywhere near as good as they did when Ole initially took over, especially going forward as they’ve just scored 3 goals in last 5 games.
West Ham have been poor the whole of 2019. Hammers have only managed 3 wins from their last 12 games and have tasted back to back defeats after the international break to both Everton and Chelsea by the same 2-0 scoreline. Hammers gave Chelsea a pretty tough game most recently but couldn’t come away with anything. It seems like West Ham are looking forward to the offseason more than anything at this point as they aren’t playing for much thus causing them to dip in form.
Man Utd have been a decent home side this year. They’ve only lost once in the league in 15 games but have had a few draws (5) which caused them to drop unnecessary points. United’s home form has dropped just like their overall form recently though as well they’ve only won 2 of their last 6 at OId Trafford in all competitions (2W 2D 2L).
West Ham have been quite awful away from home. Although they were up and down earlier in the season on their travels, their recent away form has been dreadful. West Ham have lost 7 of their last 8 games in all competitions away from home with the only other being a draw and one of those losses include a defeat in the Cup to League One’s Wimbledon 4-2. West Ham have only managed to pick up 1 points from last 21 available away from home in the league. West Ham have also been poor defensively conceding 17 goals in these last 8 away games which is just over 2 per game. Furthermore, West Ham have lost to every big team on their travels losing to Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal. This recent away form and bad record at big stadiums definitely doesn’t cope well with them entering Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford is the player to watch for United. With most of their attack out of form, Rashford has been a rare positive for them having scored 3 goals in his last 5 apps for the club. United have a lot of attacking threat but with the likes of Pogba, Lukaku, Martial not having any solid performances lately, Rashford has to be the main guy to watch right now.
Felipe Anderson is the man to watch for West Ham. Most goal contributions this season with 12 (8G 4A). He can be inconsistent, but on his day, he definitely is West Ham’s biggest threat. They’ll need him to have a solid performance if they want to cause Man Utd problems.
In the first meeting this season, West Ham did manage to pull off a surprising 3-1 win against Man Utd back in the London Stadium early in the season when Man Utd were still being led by Jose Mourinho.
Man Utd have dominated West Ham at Old Trafford over the years though. Since last losing to West Ham at home in 2007, United have gone unbeaten in 13 against them at home winning 10 of those games including each of last 2. Man Utd most recently beat West Ham at Old Trafford 4-0 in the opening day of last season. Old Trafford has not been a place where West Ham have been able to grab many points over the years.
Man Utd are bookies favourites to win this game offered to win at 1.42 whereas West Ham to win are tipped as big underdogs at 8.30 with Draw offered at 5.00. Odds are based on Unibet.
Team News
Manchester United: Luke Shaw, Ashley Young and Ander Herrera are all out with the first two suspended and Herrera being injured. Alexis, Valencia and Bailly are expected to continue to be out while Matic is a doubt. United are quite depleted with injuries and suspensions as you can see.
West Ham: Hammers are also injury hit as Andy Carroll, Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Wilshere, Winston Reid and Samir Nasri are all out. Michail Antonio will be available however after missing the Chelsea clash.
Betting Stats
Man Utd have covered 73.3% of their total goal overs at home this season which is the best in the league (11-1-3).
Man Utd have however only covered 33.3% of their 1st half total goal overs at home in the league this season (5-4-6). Much more goals tend to be scored in 2nd halves when they’re at home.
Man Utd average 1.67 bookings per game at home in the league this season (25 bookings in 15 games.
Paul Pogba is Man Utd’s top scorer at home in the league this season with 8 goals at Old Trafford in the BPL.
Man Utd have only covered 33.3% of their Handicaps at home in the BPL this season (5-1-9). 4th worst in the league.
Man Utd have covered 53.3% of their 1st half Handicaps at home in the BPL this season which is 3rd best in the league this season (8-1-6). Miles better in the 1st halves at home.
West Ham have only covered 37.5% of their total goal overs away from home in the BPL this season (6-10).
West Ham have covered 37.5% of their total 1st half goal overs away from home in the BPL this season (6-5-5).
West Ham average 1.88 bookings per game away from home in the BPL this season (30 bookings in 16 games).
Felipe Anderson is West Ham’s top scorer away from home with 4 goals on his travels in the BPL this season for the club.
West Ham have covered 43.8% of their Handicaps away from home in the BPL this season (7-9).
West Ham have covered 43.8% of their 1st half Handicaps away from home in the BPL this season (7-3-6).
KICK OFF – 13th April 2019 – 5:30pm UK Time
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