Kick-off: 19 :30, 09/02/2021
Stadium: Old Trafford
Manchester United and West Ham both drew in the Premier League on Saturday and we reckon their FA Cup tie could prove another close encounter.
The Red Devils prevailed 3-1 when meeting the Hammers at London Stadium in top-flight action in December but may be the team to make more changes here.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has to factor in Sunday’s visit to West Brom and then a Europa League trip to Real Sociedad.
David Moyes can focus on this contest knowing his side have six days to recover before hosting Sheffield United, so extra-time would not be an issue.
That makes 10/3 for a draw at the end of regulation play a tempting option for our first Man Utd vs West Ham prediction.
A Look At Manchester United’s Betting Odds
Solskjaer named a near-full-strength line-up when Liverpool were beaten here in the last round, but that was a different situation, given the rivalry between those clubs.
This starting XI may be closer to the one which was given a hard work-out by Watford before sneaking through 1-0.
The Red Devils’ recent league form has been up and down, with a 9-0 rout of Southampton countered by a shock loss to Sheffield United and draws versus Arsenal and Everton.
Saturday’s dramatic 3-3 stalemate with the Toffees probably summed things up, with United playing some fine attacking football, but also guilty of lapses in concentration and fragile defending.
“Football is about getting the ball into one net and keeping it out of the other and we didn’t manage to do that,” said Solskjaer, who saw Paul Pogba limp off with a thigh injury.
“That’s what cost us because we played some very, very good stuff.
“You can sit and talk about the good performance or the domination of possession and chances we had, but still we come away with only one point.”
Looking at the Man Utd vs West Ham odds, there is value in 13/5 for both teams to score in the first half here.
A Look At West Ham United’s Betting Odds
West Ham are coming off a goalless stalemate at Fulham which was marred by a hotly-contested red card for Tomas Soucek for allegedly elbowing Aleksandar Mitrovic in injury time.
However, that was the first time the Hammers had drawn a blank up front in eight matches, with seven wins achieved during that time.
Those victories included FA Cup triumphs over Stockport and Doncaster and there is definitely an appetite to go a long way in this competition.
After routing Rovers 4-0, assistant manager Alan Irvine said: “There’s no way we would play a team we didn’t think were strong enough.
“The FA Cup is a fantastic competition and it’s vitally important we try to do as well as we can.”
Moyes, who took Everton to the final in 2009, has the added incentive of knocking out another one of his former clubs here.
The Hammers are underdogs but, with home advantage less of a factor due to the lack of fans, 23/10 for them to progress is big enough to feature in our Man Utd vs West Ham betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
MAN UTD 3-3 Everton – Edinson Cavani, Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay
Fulham 0-0 WEST HAM
Head-to-head: West Ham 1-3 Man Utd, Man Utd 1-1 West Ham, West Ham 2-0 Man Utd, Man Utd 2-1 West Ham, West Ham 3-1 Man Utd
