West Ham have yet to keep a clean sheet at home this season while Manchester United are yet to enjoy a shutout on the road. All the evidence points to these two unwanted records being preserved through this fixture, with the respective teams in better form offensively than they are at the back.

The Irons, for example, have scored at least two goals in each of their last five games.

Man United, meanwhile, have bagged at least two in each of Michael Carrick’s four matches since taking over and are on a run of 14 successive encounters without being shut out – dating back to the 1-0 home loss against Everton in November.

United did keep a clean sheet at the weekend against Spurs, but their opponents hamstrung themselves by having Cristian Romero sent off before half an hour of the match was up. It was only their 4th shutout of the season.

Senne Lammens has been quite an underrated player in United’s general improvement this season and has been an assured presence at the back, taking over from the theatrics of Andre Onana. 

Lammens’ impact has been minimised slightly due to the lack of clean sheets that United keep, but this isn’t really the fault of the United keeper, who has been solid when called into action. He’s been forced into making 42 saves across his 19 appearances in the Premier League this season, working out to an average of 2.21 saves per 90.

West Ham have been steadily improving in the final third as well this campaign, drawing 2+ saves from the opposition keeper in each of their last five matches across all competitions - including away games against Tottenham and Chelsea. 

The chief catalyst of West Ham’s recent revival has been Crysencio Summerville, with the former Leeds player having scored in five successive matches. He was waiting for a breakout moment, having not scored in 2025 for the Hammers.

His shot volume, however, has been impressive throughout this season, with 33 coming in the Premier League at a rate of 1.99 per 90. Being moved into a deeper midfield role in recent weeks actually seems to have helped him, with 16 shots across his last five matches, including at least two in each game.

He has at least two shots in 10 of his last 13 starts across all competitions, establishing himself as a player confident in shooting.

While the Super Sub feature can offer some insurance if he goes off, this is unlikely; he has played all but two minutes of the last seven games.

In the previous encounter between these teams, which ended in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, Jarrod Bowen was fouled five times. Winning at least one foul is a consistent feature of his game; this season, he has drawn 37 fouls across 25 Premier League starts, averaging 1.49 per 90 minutes.

While Manchester United have shown clear improvement, particularly since Michael Carrick's appointment, they remain susceptible to the kind of direct attacks West Ham are expected to employ. Bowen's ability to initiate rapid transitions makes him extremely difficult to contain legally, which is precisely how he drew those five fouls in the first meeting.

Bowen’s main opponent here is likely to be Luke Shaw, who has committed a foul in each of his last 16 Premier League matches. Shaw committed three fouls and was shown a yellow card in the most recent head-to-head meeting. 

Bowen has been fouled in four of his last five league appearances, with multiple fouls drawn in two of those games. His success at Old Trafford indicates that Manchester United will likely need to foul him on more than one occasion again if they are to prevent West Ham from scoring on the break.

Mbeumo has had such a noticeable impact on the effectiveness of the Manchester United frontline this season, and his quality in the final third has been even more impressive since Michael Carrick arrived at the club.

Mbeumo has been leading the line for United at times in recent matches, but dropped back into his usual starting role on the wing against Fulham last time out, and I think he will remain there for this clash. Mbeumo is better at leading the line when there is space in behind to run into, whereas Cunha or Sesko would be better suited to a game where the opposition backline sit quite deep.

Mbeumo is Manchester United’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with nine goals to his name across 20 starts in the competition. Mbuemo netted 20 goals across 38 starts in the Premier League last season, so he is more than capable of ending the campaign with a haul that sees him rank amongst the top scorers in the Premier League this term.

Jarrod Bowen was fouled five times in the most recent head-to-head meeting between these sides, in which West Ham managed to claim a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Winning fouls has always been a strong suit of Bowen’s game, evidenced by the fact that the winger has drawn 37 fouls across his 25 starts in the Premier League this season (1.49 per 90).

Manchester United have definitely improved this season, even more so since Carrick became head coach, but I still think they are vulnerable to direct attacks, which is set to be the main approach that West Ham take in this clash. This was how Bowen won those five fouls in the initial matchup between the sides; he’s a very difficult player to stop without bringing him to the ground and often leads the majority of West Ham’s fast attacks.

Bowen has been fouled in four of his last five Premier League appearances, with two of these games seeing the winger draw multiple fouls. The fact that Bowen was fouled five times at Old Trafford is significant and suggests that Manchester United will have to haul him down again on multiple occasions if they are to stop West Ham getting goals in transition. 

Castellanos scored his first Premier League goal for the Hammers in their crucial 2-0 win over Burnley at the weekend. I’m still not convinced that Castellanos is a clinical frontman, as he’s taken 15 shots to score his first goal in the Premier League, but what is certain with the former Lazio striker is how aggressive he is when out of possession.

Castellanos has committed 10 fouls across his five appearances in the Premier League since joining West Ham in the January transfer window (2.20 per 90) and has already picked up two yellow cards across these matches. These cautions were sustained against Tottenham and Sunderland, with Castellanos also picking up a yellow card in West Ham’s clash with QPR in the FA Cup.

This level of aggression isn’t particularly new for Castellanos; he picked up eight yellow cards and one red card across his 28 starts for Lazio in Serie A last term. He’s still clearly adapting to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, which can see Castellanos continue to catch the eye of the referee in this clash.