Saturday is El Clasico but Sunday could potentially be El Sackico!
Erik ten Hag and Julen Lopetegui are two managers under serious pressure as their two sides are performing well below the expected standard.
Both teams aren't coming off the best result in their last game and victory in this one is gravely needed for either manager.
Who will come out on top?
Predicted Lineup
Considering how poor he's been for so long, I can't believe I'm actually saying this but thank God Bruno Fernandes is back!
For so long I (and many) have wanted to see what we're like without him but if his absence means Mazraoui will have to play CAM, then I never want Bruno to miss a game again.
His return to the side will mean our regular back line of Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez and Dalot will be restored.
Despite his great performance on Thursday night, I have a feeling that Erik ten Hag will opt for Casemiro instead of his fellow South American Ugarte as the CDM. The manager's comments in his pre-match presser about how the Uruguayan needs time to integrate into the team suggests to me that he will not use the £42m new signing.
Hojlund will make a return to the starting lineup after being on the bench for the draw in Turkey. The same pairing of Rashford on the right and Garnacho on the left will be on the flanks.
Honestly though, who knows with ten Hag. Anything (anything) is possible with him. Guy takes never let anyone know your next move to a whole new level.
Approach
Most of the time, our style on the road is one more conservative in nature and hitting on the break. West Ham are also a side in which we struggle against especially away from home allowing us to play this more defensive style.
I can see us trying to do something similar to what we did against Fenerbahce even more so because we had to travel to Turkey on Thursday night whereas the Hammers had an entire week off.
Erik ten Hag will try to frustrate them and look to hit them on the counter.
All the onus is on West Ham as they are at home and they too, are in desperate need of a performance and result. Knowing that we can be vulnerable, the West Ham fans will want to see their side on the front foot and try to get at us. This could play into our hands as it could mean space for us to exploit.
With Bruno Fernandes returning, this type of game could suit him perfectly as he is a player who is really good when it comes to taking advantage of spaces left by oppositions. His through balls and over the top passes to a player like Rashford could be ideal in this type of situation to get us in behind.
Given that West Ham are somewhat leaky at the back, I can definitely see us creating some chances. Hopefully we take them.
I feel like our major problem will be concentration. After having played on Thursday in Istanbul, keeping that concentration and focus for another away game at a difficult ground will be really tough.
And we know that it doesn't take much for our team to be lackadaisical.
Fatigue could be another factor as given our injuries (Antony is now added to that list), Erik ten Hag will most definitely be having to use a lot of the same players that played in the Europa League.
Form
United did pick up a much needed win last time out against Brentford which put right some wrongs and settled some nerves but a performance and result like that is needed on Sunday again to help us progress up the table.
We are 12th (as of writing this) with just 11 points from eight games. Three wins is all we've mustered while drawing twice and losing three times.
The 7 goals we've scored is only worsened by Ipswich, Palace and Southampton, which is embarrassing to say the least. On the contrary to that, the 9 we've conceded is one of the lowest in the league as only Liverpool, Arsenal, Forest and Newcastle have let in fewer.
The problem with United has been consistency and not taking our chances. If we want to get better, that is where a lot of the improvement needs to come from.
West Ham
Despite seemingly winning the transfer window (along with United), The Hammers are criminally underperforming, much like United.
Julen Lopetegui is a manager under the pump as West Ham lie in 15th place with just two wins from their eight matches. They've also drawn two while losing the other four.
Their total of 8 points is only 5 above the drop zone but just 3 behind United. The Hammers have also scored 4 more goals than us (11) but have conceded 15 which is amongst the most in the league as only Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves have let in more.
Their last match was a London Derby hiding at Spurs as they lost 4-1. Lopetegui's side have also kept just the solitary clean sheet meaning that there is a good chance for United to get some goals.
The Hammers are 16th in the home table after four games. Only one victory has been seen at the London Stadium which came against Ipswich (4-1) which also happened to be their last home game.
We know that they have more than enough talent in their squad to cause us problems. However, they will be without Mohammed Kudus after he slapped his way to a sending off in their defeat to Spurs.
Whilst it may not be looking good for them brev, they can still punish us if we're not at our best.
Recent Meetings
United's recent record against West Ham isn't the best as out of the last three, we've won one which was the 3-0 win over them at home last season in which we got THAT shot of Mainoo, Hojlund and Garnacho.
But on our previous two visits to the London Stadium, we've lost both. In fact, we haven't even scored in those games. This means that Erik ten Hag has failed to win at the there since coming to MUFC. The last time we actually won on this ground in the league was in the 21/22 season thanks to a late Davide de Gea penalty save. Who can forget that?
Prediction
I feel like this one has draw written all over it.
Between two sides who are struggling, I believe that neither will be brave enough to take the initiative and get at the other so as to get the 3 points.
2-2 is what I see.
Background Image: Diogo Dalot | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)