Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the squad against Tiraspol after being omitted by Erik ten Hag for the trip to Chelsea, and he rewarded his manager with the third goal, putting the Red Devils’ qualification for the Europa League knockout stages beyond doubt.
After some shaky performances earlier this season, including a 4-0 loss at Brentford and a 6-3 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester City, Manchester United now appear to be on a roll, defeating Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in their last Premier League game at Old Trafford, with Fred and Bruno Fernandes scoring in the second half. Then came a difficult trip to Stamford Bridge, where United appeared to be heading for a 1-0 loss when Jorginho converted an 87th-minute penalty, but a last-gasp equaliser from Casemiro ensured that Ten Hag’s men came away with a point.
The Red Devils are now sixth in the Premier League table, just one point behind the top four, having played one game fewer than both Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, who are third and fourth, respectively. United have gone undefeated in front of their own fans since a 2-1 defeat against Brighton on an opening day, and with impressive victories over Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham all coming on home soil, they will be confident going into the game, especially given that West Ham have not won at Old Trafford in the Premier League since 2007.
The Hammers got off to a shaky start in domestic play this season, losing their first three games and falling to the bottom of the Premier League table after a 2-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Since then, the Irons have improved to 10th in the league table after four wins, the most recent of which came in controversial fashion against Bournemouth, with the first goal in a 2-0 victory being checked by VAR amid concerns that it struck Thilo Kehrer’s hand before Kurt Zouma scored from close range. Prior to that, David Moyes’ side were unlucky to lose 1-0 at Liverpool in their previous away match, with Jarrod Bowen’s penalty to level the game saved by Alisson Becker, meaning the Reds held on to Darwin Nunez’s lead.
The Irons have really thrived in Europe this season, winning all five games in their Europa Conference League group, a run that continued on Thursday night when Manuel Lanzini scored a first-half penalty to send his side into the competition’s last 16. Although the Hammers’ previous Premier League visits to Old Trafford have largely been unsuccessful, they were victorious in the EFL Cup last season, with Lanzini scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory, and so they will know they are capable of taking something from Sunday’s game.
