Manchester United vs. West Ham – EPL, March 14, 2021

The north London derby may attract a lot of attention earlier in the day but it is this fixture that is more crucial in the race for Champions League places this season.

Manchester United looks like it will probably be all right for top-four finish. But if West Ham manages to come away with a win from its trip to Old Trafford, it would really keep the pressure up on Chelsea and Everton.

Manchester United has only lost four games this season – and not at all in the last eight EPL fixtures, so betting against the Old Trafford club at home might seem the wrong way to go. But there have been a few draws of late. West Ham is looking like one of the more confident teams in the league at the moment and will fancy itself to snatch at least a point on Sunday.

Manchester City will probably win the league title this season but it was United fans that were happier last week as they saw their side win the local derby. The result was nothing more than United deserved and saw it climb back into second place after dropping down because of Leicester’s victory on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems to have no problem allowing David De Gea to spend time with his family after the birth of his child. But he might be sweating over the injury problems for Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani. He will want at least one of them to be available for the weekend’s game.

David Moyes also seems to be getting along fairly well without Angelo Ogbonna at the back. But he will also have to figure out how to keep West Ham’s good form going without the help of Jesse Lingard this Sunday. He is not allowed to play against his parent club – and that is a big blow for the Hammers.

Lingard has been instrumental in West Ham’s improvement this calendar year and now there will be more responsibility placed on Michail Antonio once again. But the striker will be a handful for the United defenders and could make this game very interesting if he manages to score an early goal.

Manchester United has enjoyed a very good season but has started to draw more games than it would have liked recently. Those points have kept the club firmly in the Champions League spots, but have virtually handed the title to City. Another draw on Sunday won’t make much difference to where the Premier League trophy ends up – but it could really help with West Ham’s own hopes of a top four finish.