One of the standout fixtures in the latest round of Premier League matches will take place at Old Trafford on Sunday night as Manchester United welcome West Ham United to Old Trafford.
Man United are currently second in the table, 14 points behind leaders Manchester City, while the Red Devils sit six points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, who are firmly in the hunt for a top-four spot.
Match preview
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Man United ended Manchester City's long winning run last weekend as goals from Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw handed the Red Devils an impressive 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are not currently in a title race, sitting 14 points behind leaders Man City, but the victory over the Citizens certainly boosted their top-four chances, with a total of 54 points leaving them in second position in the table, six points clear of fifth-placed West Ham, who have a game in hand.
The 20-time English champions were in Europa League action on Thursday night and appeared to be securing a 1-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 clash with AC Milan, but the Italian giants scored in the final exchanges to leave the tie delicately poised ahead of the return game next week.
Solskjaer's side will also face Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on March 21, but they simply cannot afford to take their eye off the ball in the Premier League as the race for the top four is fierce, with West Ham, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool very much in the argument.
Man United only have the sixth-best home record in the league this term, dropping points in seven of their 13 matches at Old Trafford, but they have been victorious in two of their last three top-flight encounters at home, including a 3-1 success over Newcastle United on February 21.
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West Ham, meanwhile, will enter Sunday's clash off the back of an impressive 2-0 victory over Leeds United on Monday night, with Jesse Lingard and Craig Dawson on the scoresheet for the Hammers.
David Moyes's side have won three of their last four in the Premier League to remain in top-four contention, currently sitting fifth in the division, just two points off fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand.
The Hammers have the second-best home record in the league this term behind Man City but have dropped points in seven of their 13 matches on their travels, suffering four defeats in the process.
West Ham have also already lost twice to Man United this season - a 1-0 defeat in the FA Cup on February 9, in addition to a 3-1 reverse in the league game at the London Stadium back in December.
The capital giants have not beaten the Red Devils at Old Trafford in the Premier League since May 2007, meanwhile, when Carlos Tevez scored a famous winner on the final day of the campaign.
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Team News
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Man United will definitely be without the services of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Phil Jones for this weekend's contest, while the hosts also have a number of doubts, including Donny van de Beek.
Marcus Rashford could be available following an ankle issue, but Anthony Martial was forced off against Milan on Thursday with a hip problem and is unlikely to feature, while Edinson Cavani is battling to overcome a knock, meaning that Mason Greenwood could operate through the middle.
Solskjaer has confirmed that David de Gea is back in Manchester following a visit to Spain, but the goalkeeper is currently self-isolating, meaning that Dean Henderson should continue between the sticks.
Luke Shaw, Fred and Victor Lindelof are expected to return to the side following the clash with Milan, while Amad Diallo, who scored on Thursday, could be in contention for a first start if Rashford is unable to prove his fitness in the build-up to kickoff on Sunday evening.
As for West Ham, Arthur Masuaku, Angelo Ogbonna and Andriy Yarmolenko are all unavailable through injury, while Darren Randolph and Ryan Fredericks remain doubts.
The Hammers will also be without Lingard, with the England international ineligible against his parent club, meaning that there could be a start in the final third for Jarrod Bowen.
Moyes could also switch his formation to a back three, with Ben Johnson coming into the team as a left-sided wing-back, allowing Aaron Cresswell to operate alongside Issa Diop and Dawson in the middle.
Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek will be the two central midfielders for the visitors, with Said Benrahma likely to be the player to miss out in attack.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, McTominay; Rashford, Fernandes, James; Greenwood
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Dawson, Diop, Cresswell; Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Johnson; Bowen, Antonio, Fornals
We say: Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United
This is a very, very difficult game for Man United, particularly considering the home team's injury problems. West Ham are now a side to be taken extremely seriously at the top end of the Premier League table, and we can see the Hammers holding Solskjaer's team to a low-scoring draw at Old Trafford.
Top tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester United win with a probability of 61.37%. A draw had a probability of 20.9% and a win for West Ham United had a probability of 17.76%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester United win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.02%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.96%) and 1-0 (9.87%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.81%), while for a West Ham United win it was 1-2 (4.87%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester United would win this match.
