PREVIEW | West Ham vs Manchester United – team news, lineups, predictions

London Stadium hosts a pivotal Premier League clash on Tuesday evening as West Ham welcome fourth-placed Manchester United for a 20:15 GMT kick-off live on TNT Sports. The Hammers, hovering in 18th with 23 points, are desperate to climb away from danger, while the Red Devils, on 44 points, eye a victory to keep pace with the top three.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side arrive buoyed by a 2-0 triumph at Burnley last time out, their first league win since early January. The Portuguese tactician, who has faced United 15 times in his career (W5 D5 L5), is expected to keep faith with the XI that started at Turf Moor: Mads Hermansen; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Kostas Mavropanos, Axel Disasi, El Hadji Diouf; Tomás Soucek, Mateus Fernandes; Jarrod Bowen, Crys Summerville, Taty Castellanos; Callum Wilson.

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United, fresh from a 2-0 home defeat of Tottenham, will make the short trip south with confidence. Despite a patchy domestic run, United have scored in 14 consecutive league fixtures and have lost only one of their last four. Carrick is set to retain the same starting line-up that overcame Spurs: Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo; Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo; Matheus Cunha.

Head-to-head history favours the visitors overall – United have 74 wins to West Ham’s 50 in 157 meetings – yet the Hammers enjoy a strong record on home soil, winning 35 of 75 previous encounters at the London Stadium compared to United’s 19.

Form, however, tells contrasting stories. West Ham have drawn 11 of their last 12 league matches and are winless in five, though they have scored in six straight games. Their home form is equally curious: 13 consecutive matches conceding at least one goal, yet four in a row finding the net themselves.

United’s away record offers encouragement for the hosts: the Reds have conceded in 13 successive away league games, though they have scored in ten on the spin on the road and are unbeaten in their last three away fixtures.

With survival pressure mounting for the Hammers and Champions League aspirations driving United, a tight, high-stakes contest is in prospect. Expect goals at both ends, but Carrick’s in-form attack may just edge it.

Prediction: West Ham 1-2 Manchester United