West Ham United v Manchester United Betting Tip & Odds: Another Premier League clash bringing us a top against bottom clash. West Ham are fourth from the bottom, level on points with Wolves who are in the relegation zone, so the Hammers need points. Are they going to get some against the Red Devils? It is hard to see it happening, even though the Hammers are in decent form at the moment, beating Liverpool and drawing with Spurs. However, United should have too much to offer, although they themselves have been poor on the road. You can’t see United losing this one and they should be able to conjure up a goal from somewhere, and with West Ham not being prolific, it should be a United win. The only doubt really is whether or not West Ham could scrape a draw out of this. However, decent 21/20 at Bet365 for a Man Utd -0.75 Asian Handicap, fetching better odds than an outright win for them.
West Ham United to win: 15/4 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 13/5 at Bet365
Manchester United to win: 4/5 at BetFred
EPL Match Preview: A great match in prospect, with West Ham needing points to stave of relegation threats, while United need to get their title challenge back on track. United were thumped heavily in a 4-0 defeat at Upton Park in the Carling Cup quarter finals this season, and they won’t be looking forward to a trip back there. This is just the type of match which makes the run in to the season so exciting. The two teams at different ends of the table need those valuable points for vastly different reasons. West Ham are actually the team in better form over the last four matches heading into this one, and over the last eight matches, they rank 7th in the Premier League form table (with Man Utd 4th). Not bad for the Hammers, but they have not enjoyed too much success against Manchester United really. They are on a streak of six straight Premier League defeats against the Red Devils, and the Hammers have failed to score in each of those games. As well as West Ham are doing in their fight to avoid relegation, it is difficult to see them picking up maximum points here. United will probably just have too much firepower and quality at the end of the day.
West Ham United Form: The Hammers should get back Scott Parker in the middle of the park, after he suffered a couple of minor duties while on call with England. The Hammers need him for this one, as they need to put everything into getting at least a point out of this match. They will recall their Carling Cup triumph over the Red Devils this season, but likewise they were brushed aside 3-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season. That victory was the first time in six matches that the Hammers had even scored against United, so they have a lot to do here. West Ham, managed by Avram Grant have been consistently picking up more and more points as the season as gone on, and are on a four match unbeaten stream, which has included matches against Liverpool and Tottenham. The Hammers have now lost just once in seven matches, so there are definitely brighter signs for them to avoid relegation. They seem to be hitting their stride just at the right time, and now they need another big performance if they are going to take anything away from the visit of the league leaders. West Ham’s defence is not great, let’s be fair and honest, and they could have lost heavily against Spurs in their last match, were it not for luck, poor finishing and some good work by Rob Green between the sticks. West Ham have won just five times at Upton Park this season, two of those victories coming in their last two home matches. Those were a 3-1 hammering of Liverpool, and a 3-0 beating of Stoke. West Ham have netted three goals in three of their last four matches. Worth looking at again, remembering they put four past United in the Carling Cup? Unlikely. A 1-0 win would have the Londoners shouting from the rafters here. A win is hard to see for the Hammers, a draw, given United’s away from, a possibility, and something the Hammers wouldn’t mind too much.
Manchester United Form: If ever Manchester United needed to pick up their Premier League away form, then it is now. The Red Devils have lost three of their last four away matches losing vital points in the Premier League title race at Chelsea, Liverpool and Wolves. While United still have five point lead at the top of the league (but having played a game more than Arsenal and Chelsea), you would still have a hard time betting against United to lift their 19th league title. If they are going to do it comfortably, then they need to pick up a win at West Ham, which may be a more difficult task than one would imagine, looking at the contrasting seasons of the two sides. United again rode their luck in their last Premier League outing, when Jonny Evans was sent off, and ten man United grabbed a late, late winner from Dimitar Berbatov after a slip from the Bolton keeper. That was a big escape with three points after coming off the back of two straight defeats, and after going so long from the start of the season unbeaten, it is now three defeats and three wins in United’s last six league matches. Their away form is still nothing to write home about, winning just four of their fifteen matches on the road. You would expect them to be better than that, but they have struggled away from Old Trafford to deliver any kind of cutting edge. United’s defence will be boosted by the return of Nemanja Vidic, which is crucial with Rio Ferdinand still out. United are still missing the defensive duties of John O’Shea, Rafael and the banned Evans. They do get Paul Scholes back in the middle after his match ban, and there are doubts over Darren Fletcher’s fitness as well. It is a tricky fixture for the Red Devils, who have already suffered an away defeat to lowly Wolves, but they did recover in beating Wigan 4-0 away from home, so you would expect them to pose a threat. United have that ability to scrap and steal a 1-0 win, but they will come up against a determined Hammers side.
Head to Head: In the league, Manchester United have enjoyed the lions share of points recently against the Hammers. Last year they won 3-0 and 4-0 over West Ham and that is six straight wins for the Red Devils over the Hammers. West Ham hold a 46% win percentage over Manchester United at Upton Park, with Manchester United winning on just 22% of their visits there in the league. West Ham edge the goals tally, averaging 1.66 goals per game when the Red Devils come to down. Even though they have lost the last six, to be fair, four of those league matches were at Old Trafford, so it may be a little lopsided. Still, there doesn’t look enough to see West Ham winning here. May be worthy of riding their luck and scrapping for a point, but United remain firm favourites.
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West Ham United v Manchester United Premier League Betting Statistics
Last 5 Head to Head
Man Utd 3, West Ham 0
Man Utd 3, West Ham 0
West Ham 0, Man Utd 4
West Ham 0, Man Utd 1
Man Utd 2, West Ham 0
West Ham United have an 33% win percentage at home in the league this season
Manchester United have a 27% win percentage away from home in the league this season
West Ham United are on a streak of 2 home wins
Manchester United are on a streak of 2 away defeats
West Ham United have scored 20 goals, and conceded 21 at home
Manchester United have scored 24 and conceded 21 goals in their away matches
West Ham United average 1.3 goals per match at home this season
Manchester United average 1.6 goals per match away from home this season
West Ham United have scored the bulk of their goals in the 46-60 and 76-90 minute brackets
Manchester United have scored the majority of their goals in the 76-90 minute bracket
West Ham United have opened the scoring in 36% of their matches
Manchester United have scored first in 73% of their matches
West Ham United 2010/11 top scorer: Piquionne, 6
Manchester United 2010/11 top scorer: Berbatov, 20
West Ham United 2010/11 Season Form: P30 W7 D11 L12 GF36 GA49 Pts 32 (17th)
Manchester United 2010/11 Season Form: P30 W18 D9 L3 GF64 GA30 Pts 63 (1st)
Category: Premier League Betting
