Afternoon all. So, we've entered a period where Premier League football is going to come at us thick and fast! Here, we will be concentrating on two teams that will have hoped for better starts to the season - Manchester United vs. West Ham United.

Before we go in depth talking about this game, we are eagerly awaiting the team news, largely because Wayne Rooney has an ankle injury and has been rated as doubtful for this game. Will he be passed fit? We will soon know.

Right, the team news is in. Has Rooney made it?!

MAN UNITED XI: De Gea; Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Evans; Januzaj, Valencia, Jones, Cleverley; Rooney, Welbeck

MAN UNITED SUBS: Johnstone, Giggs, Hernandez, Young, Kagawa, Buttner, Fletcher

There you have it then - Rooney has overcome that ankle complaint and starts in attack alongside Danny Welbeck. That should be a big boost for the home side. Elsewhere, Chris Smalling has been included at the heart of the defence alongside Jonny Evans, which in turn means that Phil Jones will continue to operate in the centre of midfield. Also, having sat out the Capital One Cup win over Stoke City during the week, youngster Adnan Januzaj has been reinstated on the left flank.

And now for the visitors...

WEST HAM XI: Adrian; Demel, Tomkins, Collins, McCartney; Noble, Diame, Morrison, Taylor, Jarvis; Maiga

WEST HAM SUBS: Jaaskelainen, Rat, Collison, O'Brien, Diarra, J.Cole, C.Cole

The big news from a West Ham point of view is that manager Sam Allardyce has decided to drop experienced goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, with Spaniard Adrian preferred between the posts. The match also marks the Old Trafford return of youngster Ravel Morrison, who was forced out of Man United and down to West Ham because of a handful of off the field issues. The lone forward's role has gone to Modibo Maiga following his match-winning contribution against Spurs on Wednesday night.

Staying with West Ham, ordinarily when you are on the sort of run that they are, the last team you want to face is Manchester United at Old Trafford. The Red Devils, though, have struggled at home this term. In fact, they've won just three of their eight Premier League encounters in front of their own supporters - the last of which was against Arsenal on November 10. Perhaps if there was ever a time to visit United, it's now.

Speaking about their home form, United captain Patrice Evra, talking to Sky Sports News, recently admitted that his side are struggling for confidence: "After we lost against Everton, it was obvious we looked a little bit worried during the game against Newcastle. The crowd were not happy sometimes and that is not easy for anyone. But we play for Manchester United. We have to deal with it because we need the supporters. If they want to criticise us, we deserve that because when you play for Manchester United, you have to play with pressure.

"I am not looking at the table and I don't want to look at the future. I want to look at the present - West Ham at home. Last year we won that kind of game. This season we have more trouble at Old Trafford. That is why we have to show our character and personality and play with the Manchester United spirit. We have to respect the shirt."

Of course, West Ham have hardly set the world alight away from home this term. They've won just once from eight outings, scoring a mere five goals in the process. Having said that, they've also let in just nine during that time. With that in mind, if they can frustrate United early on and get a bit of luck, you never know what might happen here.

So, what do the history books tell us about this encounter? The two teams have met at Old Trafford on 60 occasions, with the hosts winning 41 of them to West Ham's 13. The last time that West Ham returned to East London with all three points was on the final day of the 2006-07 season when Carlos Tevez's goal not only sealed a 1-0 victory, but also preserved his side's Premier League status. During that summer, the Argentine swapped West Ham for United.

United boss David Moyes recently insisted that his side were not out of the title race. As it stands, their rivals Liverpool have just gone 11 points clear of them thanks to a 3-1 victory over Cardiff City at Anfield. There is a lot of traffic in United's way, but a win against West Ham would cut the gap to eight points, although Arsenal can extend that on Monday against Chelsea.

Here's reason for optimism for United fans courtesy of the club's official Twitter:

Rooney's return to action could be bad news for West Ham. He's scored 8 goals in his last 7 games against the Hammers in all comps. #mufc — Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 21, 2013

Three of those Rooney goals were scored in one game at Upton Park in April 2011 as United battled back from a two-goal deficit to win 4-2. You can relive that clash below:

Charged with the task of keeping Rooney quiet today is Spanish keeper Adrian, who is actually making his Premier League debut in goal for the Hammers. It's a big call from Allardyce, although Adrian do play extremely well against Spurs in the League Cup. He can make himself a West Ham hero today, that's for sure.

Here's a bit more on Adrian from West Ham's official Twitter page:

ADRIAN: @AdriSanMiguel becomes the third Spaniard to play for #WHUFC in the #BPL after Kepa Blanco and Diego Tristan #COYI — West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) December 21, 2013

PREDICTION: Right, with not long now until we are off and running at Old Trafford, let's have a stab at guessing the outcome. Here we have a team that have not been great at home against a side that have been poor on the road - something has to give! Having won their last three matches without conceding a goal, it would be a surprise if United don't extend that run today. That's not to say it will be convincing today, though. Let's go for a 2-0 win, with Rooney getting his name on the scoresheet.

The players have filtered into the tunnel area and are a preparing to make their way out onto the pitch. Not long now until proceedings get started at Old Trafford.

GAME ON! Hosting United, attacking from left to right, get the first half underway. It's a big 90 minutes for both clubs.

SAVE! It's been a frantic start from United and only a fine stop from Adrian has prevented them from taking the lead. Januzaj takes a short corner to Rooney, who gives the ball back to the youngster. He in turn fires the ball into the area, which eventually breaks for Tom Cleverley. The United midfielder slips in the action of shooting, but he still gets plenty of power behind his effort. Adrian, though, gets down quickly to palm clear.

Up the other end there's some brave defending by United centre-back Jonny Evans, who throws himself in the way of Mohamed Diame's acrobatic effort. That's West Ham's first real venture forward, but it did have the home side's rearguard worried.

After a positive start to the match, United have slowed down somewhat in the last few minutes. Moments ago a counter-attack ended abruptly when Rooney overhit a cross towards the back post for Antonio Valencia.

SAVE! There's more urgency about United just now and Jones picks up possession on the halfway line and drives towards the West Ham penalty area. The defenders allow him the time and space to shoot and he takes up the invitation with a low effort from 25 yards out. It's easy enough for Adrian to save, but it's a positive sign of intent from the home team.

The things that he tries are not always coming off, but Rooney really is at the centre of everything that United have done so far. With Welbeck playing as the lead striker, Rooney is coming deep to pick up possession and is looking to push back to West Ham rearguard. If United score, you'd expect that he is going to be heavily involved.

BOOKING! Morrison is undoubtedly a talented footballer, but he's also a petulant one and has just showed that side of his game. Cleverley robbed him of possession, so in frustration Morrison opted to hack down the United midfielder, which resulted, quite rightly, in the game's first caution.

SAVE! So far so good for Adrian as he again shows decent reflexes. This time it's Valencia who powers into the area and jinks his way beyond George McCartney. The angle is against the United winger, but he thrashes an effort towards the near post where the West Ham keeper is ready to tip the ball away for a corner, which comes to nothing.

You can see why West Ham have not conceded too many goals this season. When United have the ball, they really are a well drilled outfit, sometimes with all 11 men behind the ball. At the moment, United are finding it hard to break down the barriers - patience is needed.

A lovely goal from United and all of a sudden Welbeck looks to be a prolific striker. The goalscorer exchanges passes with Rooney, but instead of looking to square the ball back to his partner, he goes for a goal from a narrow angle. That seems to catch out Adrian, who is slow getting down to the low strike and he cannot do enough to prevent it from ending up in the back of the net. Having seen the replays, he will be disappointed to have let that in from there. Welbeck and United won't care, though and they lead.

The goal has breathed some confidence into United and in particular the front three of Januzaj, Rooney and goalscorer Welbeck. The trio are playing some smart, one-touch football that West Ham are struggling to contend with right now. From the away side's point of view, it's massively important that they don't concede again before the break.

PENALTY APPEAL! Januzaj goes down on the touchline under a challenge from Mark Noble and the call goes up for a penalty. The official says no, but replays show that the United youngster may well have had a case. West Ham got lucky there.

Game over? It could well be! Having been unlucky not to win a penalty, Januzaj puts United two goals to the good. Welbeck turns creator this time as he threads a pass through to the 18-year-old, who shapes to shoot. That commits two West Ham defenders, but instead he comes inside onto his right foot and curls the ball beyond the reach of a diving Adrian. Great composure from such a young player. It looks a long way back for the Hammers now.

CHANCE! United really are moving through the gears now. It's Rafael da Silva and Valencia down the right flank that cause the problems as the latter of the two finds himself with time inside the area. His shot is poor, though, and loops up over the crossbar.

BOOKING! Oh dear Januzaj. He's just wowed us with a great goal, but he's now been cautioned for a quite honestly shocking dive. Granted he was anticipating a foul coming from James Collins, but no contact was made as the Belgian chucked himself dramatically to the ground. He needs to cut that out of his game.

There will be three minutes of stoppage time at the end of this first half.

Well, that was arguably the best 45 minutes of football that United have played at Old Trafford since Moyes took charge during the summer. They lead 2-0 and to be honest, had they have scored one or two more, it wouldn't have been unjust.

So, why have United been so commanding? Well, first and foremost, the opposition have posed little threat to them, unlike Everton and Newcastle United in recent weeks. That aside, there has been much more urgency about the hosts. They have moved the ball around the pitch with greater pace than in recent weeks, with the likes of Januzaj and Rooney causing problems every time that they gain possession. No doubt Moyes will be keen for his side to continue from where they left off after the restart.

As for West Ham, it's hard to see where they go from here. They need to score early in the second half to give themselves a realistic chance of salvaging something from this one. The likes of Everton, Newcastle and West Brom have shown that it is possible to breach the United defence, but right now it does not look like the Hammers have it in them.

The main problem for West Ham is that they are going to have to commit more men forward during the second half. That, in turn, will leave gaps at the back. Previous United sides this season may not have taken advantage of that, but today they look sharp and lively. It could end up being a hugely convincing win for the home team if that happens.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! Here we go then, West Ham get the game restarted. No changes for either side.

CHANCES! Bright start again from United and unsurprisingly it's Januzaj at the heart of it. His cross is inviting, but Welbeck could not get the touch that would have surely taken it into the net. Then, moments later, Evans sees his goalbound header hacked off the line by an alert Noble. West Ham are hanging on right now.

Fair play to West Ham because in the last four or five minutes, they've started to impose themselves on proceedings. They are yet to force David de Gea into action, but it's positive nontheless.

SUBSTITUTION: It's another injury problem for Moyes to contend with as the lively Welbeck is forced to limp off with a leg complaint. The goalscorer has been replaced by Mexican international Javier Hernandez.

You'd probably have to say that West Ham have had more of the possession so far in this second half, but they are really struggling to create any openings. Guy Demel has just had half a chance as he cut inside Patrice Evra, but his route to goal was shut off by a retreating Jones. Then, Rooney cleared a Collins knock down that may well have been heading in.

It's now United's turn to enjoy some time on the ball and they are doing so with ease. West Ham have no outlet, so when they do get forward, the move breaks down quickly and United are back in control. At the moment, this game is petering out.

BOOKING! It's the second yellow card of the afternoon for West Ham and this time it is winger Matt Jarvis, who goes in late on Rafael. He doesn't argue the decision, which is good to see.

BOOKING! A second caution for the Hammers in as many minutes and once again they can have no complaints. Hernandez is going nowhere inside the United half, but James Tomkins shows a lack of patience by hacking down the striker from behind. Moments later the United frontman puts the ball in the net, but it's ruled out for offside.

SUBSTITUTION: It's game over for youngster Januzaj, who did look to be tiring a little bit. On comes Ashley Young, fresh from his goal against Stoke in the League Cup on Wednesday.

SUBSTITUTION: This time it's the away side that make an alteration with the ineffective Jarvis trudging off. He's been replaced by striker Carlton Cole.

Game set and the match Man United. Rooney picks out Young on the edge of the area and with Collins and Tomkins heading towards him, the winger shows fantastic composure to curl the ball into the top corner of the net. That's now two goals in his last two outings. Are we seeing the revival of Young's career as a United player? It had been flat-lining up until now.

SUBSTITUTION: Another change for West Ham and it appears that centre-back Collins has picked up an injury. He comes off and on is Razvan Rat. Moments later, McCartney is booked for a tackle on Hernandez and replays show that he could quite easily have been red carded. He caught him full on with his studs on the ankle. That really is a poor challenge.

SUBSTITUTION: Final change of the contest for United and it's skipper Evra that takes his leave. On in his place is Dutch full-back Alexander Buttner, while the captain's armband is passed on to Rooney.

His side will go on to win this, but Moyes is going to be unhappy at them having conceded a goal, that's for sure. Substitute Buttner is not alert to the danger and the ball is eventually worked to Cole, who reduces the arrears. It's probably just a consolation, but it will great on Moyes this evening.

This game is now drifting towards a conclusion, with both sides having seemingly accepted the outcome. United are in control of possession, but do not seem hell-bent on scoring again.

As United apply the pressure, four minutes of stoppage time have been signalled.

And there goes the final whistle. In truth, United eased to the three points and will be full of confidence heading into the festive fixtures. As for West Ham, it doesn't get much easier because they play Arsenal next, albeit at Upton Park. Whether or not Allardyce will still be their manager then, only time will tell.

That's all we have time for from Old Trafford. Thanks for joining us this afternoon and until next time, goodbye.