"I wasn't impressed by Erik ten Hag's side" - Chris Sutton makes interesting claims as he predicts West Ham United vs Manchester United result
Chris Sutton claimed that he 'wasn't impressed by Erik ten Hag's side' in their draw with Liverpool as he gave his prediction for Manchester United's clash against West Ham United.
The Red Devils prepare to travel to the London Stadium to take on the Hammers on 23 December. West Ham come into this game on the back of a 5-1 EFL Cup defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday (20 December).
Manchester United's last opponents were also Liverpool, but the result wasn't as lopsided. The two teams played out a 0-0 draw in the Premier League at Anfield last weekend.
Liverpool managed 34 shots as compared to United's six and kept 69% of the ball on the day. Giving his prediction for Manchester United's clash against West Ham in his BBC column, Sutton commented:
"Manchester United parked the bus at Anfield, so will they do that here too? I don't think so. I actually think West Ham will beat them, though. I often go for them to draw games, but I liked the way they went at Wolves.
"In contrast, I wasn't impressed by Erik ten Hag's side at all. They may celebrate their draw with Liverpool but United fans should not be carried away with the way they got it - that just sums up how far they have fallen."
The draw at Anfield meant Manchester United fell to seventh in the table with 28 points from 17 matches. The Hammers, meanwhile, recorded a dominant 3-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17 December in their last league encounter.
David Moyes' side are just one point and one place below the Red Devils in the table. They won this fixture 1-0 at home last season, with a goal from Said Benrahma proving to be the difference.
Erik ten Hag: "Manchester United are capable of beating Liverpool"
Erik ten Hag made a confident claim about Manchester United after their goalless draw against Liverpool on Merseyside.
The Dutchman said that his side were capable of beating the Reds and that they matched them at Anfield. He said, via the club's official website:
"We are capable of beating Liverpool. I think we proved today we are capable of [matching them]. So if we bring this in every game, then first of all we are a hard team to beat and then from that point we can go on and win games – and also big games."
Jurgen Klopp's men have inflicted some heavy defeats on Manchester United in recent seasons. They won by an aggregate of 9-0 (4-0 at home, 5-0 away) in the 2021-22 Premier League season and beat Ten Hag's men 7-0 at Anfield in March this year.
However, the Red Devils won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Old Trafford earlier that season.