Manchester United V West Ham: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Manchester United versus West Ham United will see Slaven Bilic's side able to take confidence from some stellar away performances so far this season.

With Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool among their conquests, West Ham's recent 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur might indicate their superb away run has come to an end, but Manchester United will have to be wary of the Hammers' counter-attacking abilities. 

Manchester United come into this game unbeaten in the league since 4 October but on the back of two draws, including a very disappointing 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven the last time they played at Old Trafford.

Their defence has been extremely mean at the Theatre of Dreams, though, and they have conceded just one goal there in the league—an outstanding hit from Christian Benteke in the 3-1 win over Liverpool in September. They are unbeaten at home, but for Louis van Gaal, a draw would represent more frustration and likely more grumbles from supporters about the style of play.

How he must hope the team's attack finds a way to shine in this one.

Date: Saturday, December 5, 2015

Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

TV Info: NBCSN and NBC Universo (U.S. only)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S. Only)

Form Lines

Manchester United: DWWWDD

West Ham United: WWLDLD

Team News

The biggest team news from Manchester United's perspective is the absence of Wayne Rooney. The club captain has an ankle problem, which Van Gaal described as "a nasty injury."

The manager told MUTV (h/t the club's website): "It’s been getting worse but we have to let him train to make the ankle stronger, that’s very important. I cannot say [how long he's out for] because the doctor shall decide that with Wayne of course."

Van Gaal also confirmed that Marcos Rojo had suffered a shoulder injury in training and that Ander Herrera and Phil Jones were both out. Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia remain long-term absentees. 

In better news, Van Gaal said Jesse Lingard was fit to return to action. 

Speaking to the press before the game, per West Ham's site, Bilic said:

"

We are still waiting for the results on Diafra Sakho’s scan, but it’s not good. As I said we are waiting for the opinion of a couple of specialists. It happened in a game when he had a chance. When Moses gave him the ball, he felt it when he was sprinting, but because he is a brave guy he continued and when he fell down after the shot he felt it  again.

It’s a muscle injury, not dangerous for long-term or whatever, but it’s not a light one unfortunately. We are going to be without him for a few games definitely.

"

Stijn Vandenbroucke, West Ham's head of medical and sports science, confirmed via the club's website that Enner Valencia and Dimitri Payet are unavailable but that Darren Randolph was "back to full fitness."

Predicted Lineups

With the injuries currently facing Manchester United, particularly in defence, it may well be that Van Gaal once again plumps for a 3-4-1-2 formation as he did at Leicester City. When asked about his plans by MUTV (h/t the club's website), he replied: "It’s dependable on the opponent, it’s also dependable on the shape of the players, I have to compare."

If he does, the lineup above is a reasonable guess at the selection, although Lingard could be preferred to Memphis Depay. Elsewhere, Michael Carrick could be preferred to Morgan Schneiderlin, but the latter's energy would surely be a welcome tonic in the middle of the park. Marouane Fellaini could also be involved, although having him at No. 10 would appear to be a retrograde step. 

It may be that Lingard plays in place of Paddy McNair in the above selection, with the team rearranged into a back four.

Bilic has two areas where he has big decisions to make. The first is who plays up front in the absence of Sakho. Speaking ahead of the game, per West Ham's official site, Bilic said the battle was between Andy Carroll, Nikica Jelavic and Michael Antonio.

At the back, the Hammers have played a variety of centre-back partnerships throughout the season. Winston Reid has featured in the last three games in succession but has been partnered by one of Angelo Ogbonna and James Tomkins—either could feature here.

Players to Watch

Anthony Martial has entered distinct in-need-of-a-goal territory, having not scored since his goal against CSKA Moscow on 21 October. He has continued to look bright, particularly in possession of the ball, and perhaps in the absence of Rooney, a faster-paced Manchester United attack will allow Martial a little more space to work in. 

Juan Mata was played at No. 10 against Leicester and looked bright during the last period of the game after Rooney came off. The clamour to see him given more time there will be proved either prescient or ill-informed while the captain is injured.

For the Hammers, Mauro Zarate scored an important goal in the draw against West Bromwich Albion last time out, and he and Manuel Lanzini will have to bear much of the creative brunt while Payet is unavailable through injury.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Key Battle

Another Manchester United home game, another important battle between their blunt attack and the opposition defence. The key battle will be between the young, quick attackers likely to dominate United's forward line and the West Ham defensive unit that, judging by previous visiting teams at Old Trafford this season, will be most of their XI.

Odds

Manchester United: 9/20 

Draw: 371/100

West Ham United: 209/25

Odds for the game correct at the time of writing, per Odds Shark.