Paul Merson predicts an encouraging result for West Ham against Manchester United

In the previous two fixtures, West Ham have scored as well as conceded five goals and the Hammers have been on both sides of a massive 4-1 result. While a 4-1 home win against Ipswich Town put an end to West Ham's three consecutive home defeats, a huge away defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs extended West Ham's previous three back-to-back defeats against a top Premier League side.

The next home fixture against Manchester United contains both aspects of being a home match as well as against a top-four Premier League title contenders. However, the visitors haven't enjoyed a great start to the league campaign similar to West Ham despite bringing in five elite players in the transfer window.

Paul Merson predicts an encouraging result for West Ham against Manchester United

Still, Manchester United are the heavy favourites to secure the three points from this match as Julen Lopetegui's side will have to play without Mohammed Kudus due to the 24-year-old’s red-card against Tottenham Hotspurs. Despite the absence of Kudus, Premier League analyst Paul Merson believes that the two sides are well-balanced and could play a thrilling 2-2 draw instead, saying,

"This is a big game for West Ham. Irrespective of how they're performing, Manchester United are still a big club. I actually think these teams can cause each other a lot of problems, I'm expecting a 2-2 draw here. "

- Paul Merson

A huge reason for Merson predicting a draw is the fact that Manchester United are playing in the UEFA Europa League this season, which isn't the case for the Hammers. Further, despite scoring four goals less than West Ham in the Premier League, the Red Devils possess a lot of quality and squad depth in the attack.

Thus, taking a draw from this fixture is a huge task for West Ham as manager Julen Lopetegui's tactical setup hasn't worked out well in the new season. On top of that, last season's top performers such as Alphonse Areola, Emerson and Edson Alvarez have struggled to replicate their impressive form so far, which makes a 2-2 draw a good result for West Ham amidst managerial change rumours.

Hence, it remains to be seen whether West Ham can take consecutive home wins for the first time in this Premier League season against Manchester United.