Manchester United v West Ham predictions

Where to watch

ITV, 7.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Manchester United to win & under 3.5 goals
2pts 13-10 Betfair, Paddy Power

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Team news

Manchester United
Anthony Martial remains a doubt and midfielders Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek are injured. Fred and Luke Shaw will be assessed.

West Ham
Striker Danny Ings is cup-tied after playing for Aston Villa in the third round. Maxwel Cornet and Lukasz Fabianski are sidelined and Kurt Zouma and Vladimir Coufal are doubts.

Match preview

After beating Barcelona in the Europa League last Thursday and Newcastle in Sunday's EFL Cup final, Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday with an FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to West Ham.

It is the 17th fixture of 2023 for United, who also have a colossal Premier League game away to Liverpool this weekend, but manager Erik ten Hag won't mind the hectic schedule as long as his team keeps winning.

The Dutchman delivered a first trophy for United in six years at Wembley last weekend and his side's outstanding home form means they should be confident of progressing to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The Red Devils eased past Everton and Reading in the third and fourth rounds at Old Trafford, both by a 3-1 scoreline, and despite their heavy workload they can see off a West Ham side whose priority this season is Premier League survival.

Former Manchester United manager David Moyes would have been setting his sights far higher at the start of the campaign, having led the Hammers to top-seven finishes in the previous two seasons, but this term has been a struggle, particularly away from home.

West Ham have picked up only six points from 12 road trips in the league although they came through a couple of tricky away ties in the FA Cup, winning 1-0 at Brentford and 2-0 at League One promotion contenders Derby.

Said Benrahma scored with their only shot on target against the Bees, however, and it is hard to see them causing problems for the home defence at Old Trafford despite last weekend's much-needed 4-0 home win over poor travellers Nottingham Forest.

All four of their goals against Forest came in the final 20 minutes and striker Danny Ings, who scored the first two, is cup-tied after featuring in Aston Villa's shock third-round defeat to League Two Stevenage.

Ten Hag may shuffle his pack with Sunday's trip to Anfield in mind but United have the squad depth to get the job done in normal time.

They look an imposing defensive unit with Casemiro shielding classy centre-backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez and backing United to win a match featuring under 3.5 goals looks the best bet.

Only two of their 15 victories in all competitions since the World Cup have produced four or more goals and one of those was the 3-1 cup win over Everton in which Marcus Rashford converted a 97th-minute penalty.

Their 2-0 win over Newcastle at Wembley on Sunday featured an impressively controlled performance and West Ham, who have scored just seven goals in 12 away league games this term, may struggle to land a blow on Ten Hag's confident charges.

Key stat

Eight of West Ham's last 20 Premier League away matches have ended in 1-0 defeats.

Probable teams

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst
Subs: Shaw, Dalot, Sancho, McTominay, Sabitzer, Maguire, Antony

West Ham (3-5-2): Areola; Ogbonna, Zouma, Aguerd; Johnson, Downes, Rice, Soucek, Emerson; Bowen, Antonio
Subs: Paqueta, Benrahma, Cresswell, Lanzini, Kehrer, Scamacca, Fornals