Man Utd vs West Ham preview: Latest team news, Expected XI’s, Predicted score

Manchester United will be aiming to close-in on the top four with a win over West Ham at Old Trafford tonight.

The Red Devils come in to the game off the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie and they now need a miracle to turn things around in the return leg at the Nou Camp.

However, United need to focus on Premier League matters this weekend as they remain in a fierce battle with Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea to qualify for the Champions League again next season.

A frustrating 2-1 defeat at Wolves has left Man Utd sitting sixth in the table but just five points separates them from third-placed Chelsea so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men can reduce the gap with a win over West Ham this evening ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Anfield on Sunday.

West Ham head to Old Trafford sitting in 11th place on 42 points so they have very little left to play for but boss Manuel Pellegrini will be keen to get back to winning ways following successive defeats to Everton and Chelsea.

Team news

United will be without Luke Shaw and Ashley Young as they’re both suspended for the visit of the Hammers today so Marcos Rojo and Diogo Dalot could deputise in the full-back positions.

Ander Herrera has also been ruled out as he’s still nursing a muscle injury that kept him out of the Barcelona game and Nemanja Matic is a major doubt due to illness.

Alexis Sanchez is back in full training but this game is likely to come too soon while Marcus Rashford may not be risked from the start with the Barcelona game in mind. Therefore, Romelu Lukaku could lead the line up front and he’s 33/10 to score the first goal with BetUK.

West Ham could recall Michail Antonio to the squad after he recovered from an ankle knock but Samir Nasri remains out with a calf injury so he is on the sidelines along with Andy Carroll, Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Jack Wilshere, and Winston Reid.

Expected line-ups

Predicted score

Man Utd 2-0 West Ham: The Hammers have only lost two of their last eight meetings with United and won the reverse fixture 3-1 at the London Stadium back in September so they could be quietly confident tonight.

I don’t expect this to be an easy game for the hosts as it’s always tricky after a big Champions League game but West Ham have been coasting since reaching 40 points. The Londoners have lost six of their last seven away games to nil so I think Man Utd will have enough to take the three points today.