Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the squad against Tiraspol after being omitted by Erik ten Hag for the trip to Chelsea, and he rewarded his manager with the third goal, putting the Red Devils’ qualification for the Europa League knockout stages beyond doubt.
After some shaky performances earlier this season, including a 4-0 loss at Brentford and a 6-3 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester City, Man United now appear to be on a roll, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in their last Premier League game at Old Trafford, with Fred and Bruno Fernandes scoring in the second half.
Then came a difficult trip to Stamford Bridge, where United appeared to be on course for a 1-0 defeat until Jorginho converted an 87th-minute penalty, but a last-gasp equaliser from Casemiro ensured that Ten Hag’s men took a point from the tricky away fixture.
The Red Devils are now sixth in the Premier League table, one point behind the top four, and have played one game fewer than both Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, who are third and fourth.
United have gone undefeated in front of their own fans since a 2-1 defeat against Brighton on the opening day, and with impressive victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham all coming on home soil, they will be confident going into the game, especially given that West Ham have not won at Old Trafford in the Premier League since 2007.
The Hammers got off to a shaky start in domestic play this season, losing their first three games and falling to the bottom of the Premier League table after a 2-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Since then, the Irons have improved to 10th in the league table after four wins, the most recent of which came in controversial fashion against Bournemouth, with the first goal in a 2-0 victory being checked by VAR amid concerns that it struck Thilo Kehrer’s hand before Kurt Zouma scored from close range.
Prior to that, David Moyes’ side were unlucky to lose 1-0 at Liverpool in their previous away match, with Jarrod Bowen’s penalty to level the game saved by Alisson Becker, meaning the Reds held on to Darwin Nunez’s lead.
The Irons have really thrived in Europe this season, winning all five games in their Europa Conference League group, a run that continued on Thursday night when Manuel Lanzini scored a first-half penalty to send his side into the competition’s last 16.
Although the Hammers’ previous Premier League visits to Old Trafford have largely been unsuccessful, they did win the EFL round last season.
with Lanzini again the man on the scoresheet, recording the solitary goal in a 1-0 victory, and so they will know that they are capable of taking something from Sunday’s game.
Betting odds
Manchester United at home, are favourites to win this one with odds at 1.73 and that should come off as no surprise.
The odds of a West Ham win are a far fetched 5.25, with the possibility of points shared at 4.1.
West Ham has struggled against EPL’s top teams, losing 5-2 to Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham.
The east London team has also had trouble scoring goals in general; with 11 goals this season, they are tied for the fourth-lowest total in the Premier League.
Even though West Ham won their most recent game, Manchester United, coming off a significant draw against Chelsea, has the upper hand in this one.
