Manchester United welcome West Ham to Old Trafford on Sunday for a Premier League clash which will hopefully bring the Red Devils closer to the top four.
Both teams were in action on Thursday evening in the Europa League and Europa Conference League, winning their matches in the process.
United put three goals past Moldovan outfit FC Sheriff, while West Ham beat Silkeborg 1-0 thanks to a goal from Manuel Lanzini.
Erik ten Hag’s side go into the game on a seven-match unbeaten run since the 6-3 defeat against Man City. On the other hand, West Ham are on a two-match winning streak.
Manchester United predicted XI vs West Ham
United need to control the game and the good thing about West Ham is that they are not going to hound us high up the pitch for 90 minutes. That’s why I think a certain Danish midfielder will be crucial in the middle of the pitch.
De Gea kept his 172nd clean sheet of his United career during the week against FC Sheriff and he will be trusted between the sticks again. He is only three clean sheets off matching the record set by Alex Stepney and eight away from Peter Schmeichel. Another stat to keep in mind is that we’ve kept four clean sheets in a row at Old Trafford.
The United defence took a hit last week when Raphael Varane hobbled off the pitch injured at Stamford Bridge. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw will operate on the flanks, while Victor Lindelof will partner Lisandro Martinez. This game may come too soon for Harry Maguire and his aerial ability could be useful if West Ham go with two strikers up top.
We will see United’s best midfield duo in Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, with Bruno Fernandes tasked with pulling the strings in the final third.
Antony is ready to spin the angry pundits of the UK into another meltdown, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho returning to the starting line-up. Alejandro Garnacho is probably more deserving of a start than Sancho and we also have Anthony Elanga on the bench.
Stretty News’ predicted XI vs West Ham: De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Sancho.