English Premier
2025-05-11 - Manchester United vs West Ham United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 11th May 2025 - Kick Off 2:15pm
Manchester United
Much like the First Leg, Manchester United made a slow start against Athletic Bilbao before turning things around. There will have been one or two nerves around the team and in the stands when Manchester United fell behind 0-1, but the manager made the right substitutions at the right time and Manchester United were comfortable 4-1 winners on the night and 7-1 on aggregate as they progressed to the Europa League Final.
A big opportunity has now opened up with Manchester United one win away from returning to the Champions League, but Ruben Amorim has made it clear that he is still expecting positive Premier League results. He has not shifted from that mindset even when making changes for recent League games as Manchester United have slipped down to 15th in the standings. The side have a 6-3-8 record at Old Trafford in the top flight.
Manchester United have produced their best results in the Europa League and remain the only unbeaten team left playing in any of the UEFA Finals. Things have been considerably different in the Premier League and Manchester United have not won any of 6 domestic fixtures played since the March international break and they have lost 4 of those. Manchester United have won 3 of 11 home Premier League games played under their current manager.
Ayden Heaven, Toby Collyer and Diogo Dalot are pushing for a return before the Europa League Final, but that is not expected to take place this weekend. Matthijs de Ligt is another in a race to prove his fitness and the starting lineup could have some changes made with the likes of Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Amad Diallo perhaps earning starts.
West Ham United
The fixture list has had West Ham United facing both Europa League Finalists after they have been involved in Semi Final action, but Graham Potter's team were not able to take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur. There is some sense of frustration that the team have not shown that much improvement under Potter, but the manager has three more games to negotiate before the West Ham United squad can be reassessed.
The bottom three in the Premier League have been well below the standard required and that has helped West Ham United who are 17th in the table. Since Graham Potter arrived as manager, only the bottom three have earned fewer points than The Hammers, which is just raising some doubts about the current manager. The side have a 4-5-8 away record in the top flight ahead of this trip to the North West.
West Ham United drew 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and have failed to win any of their last 8 Premier League games, while losing half of those matches. They conceded two very late goals to turn a 1-2 lead into a 3-2 defeat at Brighton in their last away game and West Ham United have lost 3 consecutive fixtures played on their travels.
Edson Alvarez is hoping to at least be able to travel with the squad for this fixture.
Head to Head
A controversial VAR intervention helped West Ham United beat Manchester United 2-1 at the London Stadium in what turned out to be Erik ten Hag's last game in charge of the club.
The home team has won the last 7 fixtures between the clubs.
Manchester United have won 6 of their last 7 at Old Trafford against West Ham United, including the last 4 in a row.
Prediction
After winning 0-3 in Spain in the First Leg, the Europa League Semi Final Second Leg felt like it should be little more than a formality for Manchester United.
However, this has been a season in which the players have struggled for consistency and they were 0-1 down with twenty minutes left and the nerves beginning to frazzle. Athletic Bilbao had put Manchester United under pressure, but were without four key players and Ruben Amorim made some clever substitutions to just offer his team more control.
Perhaps more importantly was the composure and creativity offered by the subs and Mason Mount was a key figure in helping the home team to a 4-1 win. That makes it three goals in two games for Mount, who should be rewarded with a start on Sunday, and Manchester United might be ready to snap a poor Premier League run of form.
Since the March international break, Manchester United have lost 4 of 6 Premier League games, but the underlying numbers have been stronger than the results.
This weekend Manchester United are hosting a West Ham United team struggling under manager Graham Potter.
There have been some positive signs, but West Ham United are still having problems defensively and Potter may need the summer and the off-season to really get his squad on the same page as himself. The defensive issues were shown up in the 3-2 loss at Brighton in their last away game and West Ham United have not enjoyed trips to Old Trafford in recent years.
Since Ruben Amorim took over as manager of Manchester United, they have won just 3 of 11 home Premier League games, but those were against Everton, Southampton and Ipswich Town. The defeat to Wolves was perhaps a little unfortunate and Manchester United should be playing with the confidence of having reached the Europa League Final.
They are not easy to trust, but Manchester United could be facing the right opponent this Sunday and they can snap their winless run in the League. The away team will offer a threat, but West Ham United's defending has not been good enough in recent weeks and that could be a difference maker when all is said and done.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
