Round nine of the Premier League season continues on Saturday as the campaign continues to take shape. Saturday afternoon will see several fixtures being played simultaneously with the match between West Ham United and Manchester United being a part of that.
This will be one of the bigger fixtures of this weekend as both teams will be aiming for three important points as they work towards their season goals. At this point in the season, momentum will be key to setting the tone as we head into the midway point of the campaign.
West Ham United’s new era continues to take steps to make good progress. Over the summer, we have seen the Hammers make significant moves to take the next step as they look to be a consistent European contender.
They appointed a former European Champion Julen Lopetegui as their new manager and reinforced the squad with talented players like Jean Clair Todibo, Max Killman and Crysensio Somerville to name a few. They are a team that means business and they have chosen the Spaniard as the one who will lead the new era of West Ham and. l continue the legacy David Moyes left behind.
The first item on West Ham’s to-do list will be qualification for European football once again after their ninth-place finish last season saw them miss out.
“I feel that we have a fantastic platform. I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.” Lopetegui said
“I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here and for us, it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because we our commitment is 100 per cent to be here. We had other opportunities but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.”
Erik Ten Hag’s men, on the other hand, will be looking for three points on the road against a team they have found hard to defeat away from home in recent finds. United are looking to hit the heights they once reached under Ten Hag two seasons ago and maybe even surpass what they did in 2022/2023.
Last year ended in cup success for the team but it also saw them have their lowest finish in the Premier League era on the table at eighth place. There was even speculation at the end of last season that the Dutchman would be sacked after the FA Cup final against Manchester City but that decision was reportedly overturned after the cup win against their rivals.
Whatever the case may be, Ten Hag remains Manchester United’s first-team manager and will most likely remain so for the rest of the season unless something drastic happens this year. INEOS has backed him with signings and now the manager has to step up and prove that he is good enough to be the manager of Manchester United for the foreseeable future.
One of the major improvements they need to make this season is their ability to beat top-half teams, particularly away from home. Last season they ranked sixth away from home with 27 points won. It is not a bad record to have but they will not be the club they need to become if they don’t get themselves a better record.
Their next away trip to West Ham will not be an easy one at all as the Hammers are a strong team at home. Recent history has not been kind to United either as their last two visits to the London Stadium have ended in defeat for the Red Devils.
Match Tickets
West Ham vs Manchester United can be found online for fans looking to purchase. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at the London Stadium for this important home game. The 60,000-capacity stadium will be filled to the rafters for a match that is sure to have a rocking atmosphere filled with fans expecting a big win.
The game will be played at the London Stadium on Saturday, 18th of October at 3:00 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
West Ham United will also have no issues turning up for the derby with their strongest team and will be hoping to leave with all three points.
Manchester United, on the other hand, still has Leny Yoro missing due to injury. The French teenager has been sidelined since their game against Arsenal during their preseason tour of the United States of America.
Lineups
The Hammers will feature a central defensive pairing of Greek international Konstantinos Mavropanos and new signing Max Killman while Michail Antonio will be leading the line up front. He will be flanked by Mohammed Kudus and Jarrad Bowen
West Ham: Areola ; Coufal, Todibo, Killman, Creswell, Ward-Prowse, Souchek, Guilherme, Bowen, Kudus, Antonio.
Manchester United will line in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo and Joshua Zirkzee leading the line. Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro start in midfield while Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez will start as the central defensive partnership.
Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo, Casemiro, Fernandes, Amad, Rashford, Zirkzee.
Prediction
Recent history has been very kind to the Hammers in this fixture and these positive results against United will make West Ham feel confident about getting all three points on Saturday afternoon.
West Ham 2-1 Manchester United
