Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has made his scoreline prediction for Manchester United’s forthcoming Premier League clash against West Ham at Old Trafford.
Manchester United remain in the hunt for a top-four Premier League finish this season and secured three points on their last outing against Wolves on Thursday.
Erik ten Hag’s men played out a thrilling 4-3 victory at the Molineux, with Kobbie Mainoo scoring a sensational winner in injury time against Wolves.
United are currently eighth in the Premier League table and are 11 points adrift of fourth-place Aston Villa, though the Red Devils have a match in hand.
West Ham, on the other hand, are ahead of United in the league table and the Hammers are on 36 points after 22 Premier League matches.
David Moyes’ men are winless in their last five matches across all competitions, with West Ham held to a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth at home on Thursday.
READ MORE: Roy Keane and Gary Neville both drop telling predictions for Man Utd vs West Ham, Ian Wright reacts
Merson predicts Man Utd vs West Ham
Paul Merson had previously claimed that Manchester United’s top-four Premier League ambitions would have been buried had they lost to Wolves earlier this week.
Erik ten Hag’s men comfortably led Wolves 2-0 in the first half at the Molineux before Gary O’Neil’s men rallied back against the Red Devils in the second half.
Speaking in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson insisted that he ‘hates’ predicting United matches and even highlighted their performance against Newport County.
However, the Sky Sports pundit backed United to beat West Ham 2-1, despite warning the Red Devils over the form of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus.
“West Ham United have the ammunition to hurt Manchester United on the counter,” Merson said.
“With Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, the Hammers have two players who have been in fine form this season, but as I’ve said earlier, you never quite know what you’re going to get with West Ham.
“You could say the same for Manchester United! They were absolutely dominating Newport County and raced to a two-goal lead, which is when I thought it could be a cricket score. Next thing you know, it was 2-2!
“I hate predicting Manchester United games, but I think they’ll just win this one thanks [to] home advantage.”
Ten Hag provides Lisandro Martinez update
Lisandro Martinez was spotted receiving treatment off the pitch after he was withdrawn during the Wolves clash, with fans concerned after his return from injury.
However, Ten Hag played down fears of injuries and claimed his decision to withdraw the 26-year-old United defender was tactical during the match.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, he said: “I took him off actually because I had to sub Rasmus Hojlund, he was dead with all that running.
“Then we needed an extra header, but for Licha, he has just had a long time out and we brought Harry Maguire on for Licha and also Omari Forson on for Rasmus Hojlund.”
READ MORE: Join the conversation with the United in Focus Whatsapp group
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
