On Tuesday night, Manchester United will be looking to make it five wins in a row to start Michael Carrick's reign, as they make a trip to the capital to face West Ham United on match day 26 of the Premier League season, for a 20:15 GMT/15:15 ET kick-off.

This will be the second game in a row that Carrick comes up against one of his former sides as a player. But what can we expect from our hosts on Tuesday? 

It's safe to say that it has so far not been the season that anybody at West Ham would have wanted. They currently sit in the relegation zone, three points off of Nottingham Forest in 17th place. 

Back at the end of September, Graham Potter was sacked as manager and replaced by Nuno. After initial signs of life, the Hammers then went over 10 games without a victory. 

That said, things have gotten better again recently. After consecutive damaging defeats against Wolves and Forest to start the year, they have since won four out of five games, including three out of four in the league. They were also very close to getting at least a point away from Chelsea in the other game. 

So, things have picked up. Having only scored one goal in his first 18 months at the club, Crysencio Summerville has scored in all of the last five games, as well as registering an assist in that time too. 

Funnily enough, the solitary goal he had scored before this rich vein of form came against United, back in October of 2024, which proved to be Erik ten Hag's final game in charge of the club.

On the other wing, Jarrod Bowen has been West Ham's dangerman for a number of years now. The Englishman has found the back of the net eight times in the league this season and scored against the Reds in both fixtures last season. 

Up front, January signing Valentin Castellanos scored his first league goal for the club last time out in a crucial 2-0 win away to Burnley, with a lovely glancing header, and will provide a focal point for Nuno's side. 

He has been partnered by fellow winter addition Pablo Felipe for the most part, though Callum Wilson started with him in the last game, as they look to play a 4411 formation of sorts. 

In the middle of the park, Matheus Fernandes has been a serious bright spark since signing from Southampton last summer. He scored an incredible goal from long range in a recent win over Sunderland and assisted Summerville against Burnley last weekend. 

At the back, West Ham have seriously struggled this season, conceding 48 goals in 25 games. The centre-backs have been the main issue, with the likes of Max Kilman seriously struggling. Jean-Clair Todibo has improved of late, but found himself sent off against Chelsea a couple of weeks ago, and will be suspended for this one. 

At left-back, AFCON winner El Hadji Malick Diouf has gained a reputation for his crossing ability and assisted Castellanos in the win over Burnley. At right-back, there is a very familiar name in Aaron Wan-Bissaka. 

In goal, Mads Hermansen came back into the team last weekend, keeping a clean sheet and making five saves in his first league appearance since all the way back in mid-September. 

The hosts have won this fixture in all of the last three seasons, and with recent improvements, United will certainly have to work to keep the winning run going for another game. 

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