Manchester United‘s last game before Christmas is a lunchtime trip to West Ham United on Saturday, 23 December.
Erik ten Hag’s men will be looking to build on a resilient performance last weekend, when United picked up a credible point away to Liverpool.
Before Saturday’s Premier League match, the Hammers lost to Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield, this past Wednesday evening’s Carabao Cup quarter-final.
TEAM NEWS
Bruno Fernandes is available for selection after missing the Liverpool clash with a one-match suspension, but his Portuguese compatriot Diogo Dalot misses out after being shown the yellow card twice in the closing stages at Anfield.
Christian Eriksen made a welcome return to first-team training this week, having been sidelined with the knee injury he suffered during November’s 1-0 win over Luton Town at Old Trafford. However, it’s unknown when the Denmark international can be an option for Ten Hag again.
Harry Maguire is still recovering from an injury he picked up recently against Bayern Munich, while longer-term absentees Casemiro, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez are not expected to return before the festive period.
For the home side, striker Michail Antonio is set to be the only player missing, after sustaining an injury while on international duty with Jamaica in early November.
Hammers boss Moyes will be planning the best way to utilize his squad for two games in four days against Liverpool and United.
THE OPPOSITION
West Ham have enjoyed a positive start to the first half of the 2023/24 season. They currently occupy eighth place in the league and are through to the last 16 of the Europa League after topping their group.
The Hammers have picked up seven victories in their last 10 games across all competitions, including last weekend’s 3-0 league win at home to Wolves. During that time, they have only lost on two occasions to Brentford and Fulham.
Ten Hag is set to come up against two of his former players on Saturday, in the form of West Ham’s summer recruits from Ajax, Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus. The pair enjoyed great success under our manager in the Netherlands, winning two Eredivisie titles.
Ghanian international Kudus is the club’s in-form player and has netted seven of his eight goals this campaign at the London Stadium.
RECENT MEETINGS
We faced West Ham on three occasions last season, with the Reds coming out on top in two of those games.
Our first encounter ended in a 1-0 league victory for Ten Hag’s team at Old Trafford, as Marcus Rashford’s powerful first-half header proved to be the difference.
The second meeting was in the Emirates FA Cup fifth round at the Theatre of Dreams, where the Reds responded strongly to Said Benrahma’s second-half opener for the visitors before scoring through Nayef Aguerd’s own goal, Alejandro Garnacho and Fred.
Later in the season, Benrahma netted the only goal of the game as Moyes’s side picked up a 1-0 victory at the London Stadium.
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