Manchester United welcome West Ham United to Old Trafford aiming to kick off busy December schedule on a high | OneFootball

Manchester United and West Ham United draw the curtain on Matchday 14 of the 2025-26 Premier League season with a meeting at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.

Securing back-to-back victories will be the objective for the hosts after returning to winning ways last time out, while the visitors head to Manchester aiming to bounce back from a first defeat in four matches.

After failing to make the most of their numerical advantage in last Monday’s 1-0 defeat to Everton, United headed to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in need of a lift.

Jean-Philippe Mateta’s first-half penalty left Ruben Amorim’s men with plenty to ponder at half-time before Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount netted nine minutes apart to spark a turnaround.

United’s triumph moved them within three points of a place in the top four, but they will need to address their defensive frailties to aid their quest for Champions League football.

They have gone six matches without a clean sheet, while their tally of 20 goals conceded is the joint-most of any team in the top half alongside Liverpool.

Having lost both of last season’s league meetings against West Ham and four of the most recent five, Thursday’s hosts will now aim to take the first step towards reasserting their dominance in this fixture.

West Ham’s appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo failed to produce an immediate upturn in form, with the Portuguese manager’s first four matches in charge yielding just one point.

Consecutive wins over Newcastle United and Burnley changed the mood, while a draw with Bournemouth kept things heading in the right direction.

There was cause for optimism heading into Sunday’s clash against an out-of-sorts Liverpool side, but they slipped to a 2-0 defeat and are only outside the bottom three on goal difference.

Thursday’s clash is the second of six straight West Ham games against teams who finished in the top nine last season, and they need to up the ante to avoid being plunged further into relegation danger.