"They look a better team" - Mark Lawrenson makes bold scoreline prediction for West Ham United vs Manchester United
Liverpool legend and football pundit Mark Lawrenson believes West Ham United will take a point off Manchester United when the two teams meet this weekend. The Hammers will host the Red Devils at the London Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday, May 7.
Erik ten Hag's side currently sit fourth in the standings, having picked up 63 points from 33 matches. They are four clear of fifth-placed Liverpool and have a game in hand, but given the Reds' resurgent form, they have to avoid any potential slip-ups.
West Ham, meanwhile, were stuck in the relegation mire for much of the campaign and are still not out of the woods yet. David Moyes' men have just 34 points from 34 matches this term and are only four clear of the relegation zone.
Both Manchester United and West Ham United will enter this game having won just two of their last five games across competitions. Given their recent form, Lawrenson believes a 1-1 draw is on the cards when they meet on Sunday.
He wrote in his predictions column for Paddy Power:
"Man United have been playing non-stop it seems in recent weeks. They just played on Thursday night at Brighton, losing in the last minute, and now they’re away again to face West Ham. They look a better team recently than have all season and they are difficult to play against."
He added:
"But I think if you said to David Moyes now would you take a draw, he would. He’ll be very vigilant and cautious at home and I can see this playing out as a draw. West Ham 1-1 Man United."
As Lawrenson mentioned, the Red Devils enter this match after losing their most recent encounter 1-0 against Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday, May 4. Alexis Mac Allister's penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time settled the contest at the American Express Community Stadium.
West Ham, meanwhile, suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of leaders Manchester City a day earlier. They kept City out until half-time, but second-half goals from Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden saw them slip to a third consecutive defeat.
Manchester United have beaten West Ham twice this season
Manchester United and West Ham United have already clashed twice this season, once each in the Premier League and FA Cup.
Their first meeting was at Old Trafford in October last year. On that occasion, a 38th-minute strike from Marcus Rashford was enough to give the Red Devils a 1-0 league victory.
They then clashed once again in Manchester in the fifth round of the FA Cup in March this year.
West Ham took the lead this time around through Said Benrahma in the 54th minute. However, the hosts were level in the 77th minute after Nayef Aguerd put the ball into his own net.
Manchester United then went ahead in the final minute of regulation through Alejandro Garnacho. Fred added a third in the fifth minute of injury time to put the gloss on an excellent comeback victory.