Tactically speaking
West Ham United will seek to extend their home run to one defeat in eleven Barclays Premier League matches when Manchester United come to town on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers have turned the Boleyn Ground into a fortress in recent months, but Louis van Gaal's side are unbeaten in six away matches themselves and have lost just one league game since 2 November.
Football statistics website WhoScored.com take a closer look at how the clash could pan out.
West Ham United
West Ham United will seek to extend their home run to one defeat in eleven Barclays Premier League matches when Manchester United come to town on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers have turned the Boleyn Ground into a fortress in recent months, but Louis van Gaal's side are unbeaten in six away matches themselves and have lost just one league game since 2 November.
Football statistics website WhoScored.com take a closer look at how the clash could pan out.
West Ham United
West Ham United have teamed up with football stats website WhoScored.com to preview Sunday's Barclays Premier League meeting with Manchester United.
The Hammers have lost only one of their last six home league games and kept a clean sheet in three of those matches. With just the ten goals shipped at the Boleyn Ground in the Premier League, West Ham have the defensive solidity to shut Manchester United out in east London.
If West Ham are to do just that, goalkeeper Adrián could end up playing a hugely influential role. The Spaniard has kept five clean sheets in the Premier League this season, each of which has come at home. His command of the penalty area and shot-stopping ability instills confidence in the defence and this will be crucial for the Hammers if they are to keep the likes of Robin van Persie and Falcao at bay.
Adrián has made 76 saves in his 23 appearances and boasts two statistically calculated WhoScored.com strengths of 'shot stopping' and 'saving long shots'. He is held in high regard in England's top tier due to this aspect of his game and his ability between the sticks could be a deciding factor in whether West Ham can secure victory against Manchester United.
Louis van Gaal's side have developed a strength of 'creating long shot opportunities' and the Dutchman has the personnel at his disposal to test West Ham's No13 from distance. However, this route to goal is unlikely to reap the benefits, especially if Adrián is on top of his game against the former champions.
With centre-back James Tomkins (7.53) currently West Ham's highest rated player according to WhoScored.com, attempts from distance may be the best way for the visitors to attack. Should this be the case, though, the visitors could well be left frustrated in their attempts to score in Sunday's late kick off.
West Ham have developed a WhoScored.com strength of 'creating scoring chances', so provided their offensive players are performing, the Hammers have a much stronger chance of securing victory at United's expense this weekend.
Adrián, though, will have a big part to play in helping West Ham to a positive result. The goalkeeper has been one of the Hammers' most consistent performers this season and they will need him to be at his best when United make the trip to London on Sunday.
*WhoScored.com is a website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Follow @WhoScored on Twitter.
Manchester United
An in-depth look at how Manchester United could approach today's Barclays Premier League fixture
The possible starting XI
The formation
Ever the student of the game, Louis van Gaal has tinkered with his tactical approach to matches throughout his first season with Manchester United. The Dutchman has utilised five different formations in the Red Devils' opening 23 Barclays Premier League matches.
In recent games, Van Gaal has opted for a 4-1-3-2 shape, with fellow countryman Daley Blind playing as the deep-lying central midfielder behind a very attacking front five.
At the back, Manchester United have also chopped and changed between a three (12 games) and four-man (eleven games) defence.
The playing style
Manchester United may not quite be playing with the fluency they famously showed under Sir Alex Ferguson, but Van Gaal's team are certainly finding different ways to win.
Defensively, the Red Devils press the opposition all over the field, including the opposition half. This approach sees them regularly win possession back in advanced areas of the pitch.
When they regain the ball in their own half, Manchester United possess the pace and attacking potency to counter-attack decisively and at speed.
Full-backs Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw both love to romp forward into the space in front of them, latching on to short passes or longer diagonal balls. When they have the ball, the quality in the team means they still enjoy impressive possession statistics - 59.3% on average - and complete a Barclays Premier League-high 85% of their passes.
Central to Manchester United's control of matches has been the form of Dutch international central midfielder Blind and former West Ham star Michael Carrick, who both complete 89.6% of their passes.
Further forward, the front five have superb mobility, creating space for themselves and their team-mates. From set places, Wayne Rooney and Angel Di Maria both provide superb deliveries.
Perhaps the one criticism of Manchester United this season has been their inability to turn possession into goals. In 23 league matches, the Red Devils have scored 39 goals - an average of 1.7 goals per game. While that total is good enough for fourth-best in the top-flight, it is significantly lower than Chelsea (52) and Manchester City (46) - the two clubs above them in the table.
This relative shortage is perhaps the result of unleashing just 12.5 shots per game on average - just the eleventh highest in the Barclays Premier League and 0.7 lower than their hosts today.
The players
With a flat back four, Manchester United rely on their full-backs to be both defenders and attackers. To that end, Ecuadorian Valencia and England youngster Shaw are the perfect athletes to fill those positions.
In midfield, Van Gaal is almost employing the same diamond formation that has proved so successful for Sam Allardyce and West Ham United. Blind sits deep, utilising the time and space he is afforded to prompt Manchester United's attacks, with Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj tucked in on their respective flanks. Argentina star Di Maria has been deployed recently in a more advanced position behind the front two, using the space between the lines to run at pace, with and without the ball.
The front pair of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao have worked well together as they have played together increasingly often. There is now a clear understanding there between the two experienced attackers, co-ordinating their movement effectively.
The Hammers have lost only one of their last six home league games and kept a clean sheet in three of those matches. With just the ten goals shipped at the Boleyn Ground in the Premier League, West Ham have the defensive solidity to shut Manchester United out in east London.
If West Ham are to do just that, goalkeeper Adrián could end up playing a hugely influential role. The Spaniard has kept five clean sheets in the Premier League this season, each of which has come at home. His command of the penalty area and shot-stopping ability instills confidence in the defence and this will be crucial for the Hammers if they are to keep the likes of Robin van Persie and Falcao at bay.
Adrián has made 76 saves in his 23 appearances and boasts two statistically calculated WhoScored.com strengths of 'shot stopping' and 'saving long shots'. He is held in high regard in England's top tier due to this aspect of his game and his ability between the sticks could be a deciding factor in whether West Ham can secure victory against Manchester United.
Louis van Gaal's side have developed a strength of 'creating long shot opportunities' and the Dutchman has the personnel at his disposal to test West Ham's No13 from distance. However, this route to goal is unlikely to reap the benefits, especially if Adrián is on top of his game against the former champions.
With centre-back James Tomkins (7.53) currently West Ham's highest rated player according to WhoScored.com, attempts from distance may be the best way for the visitors to attack. Should this be the case, though, the visitors could well be left frustrated in their attempts to score in Sunday's late kick off.
West Ham have developed a WhoScored.com strength of 'creating scoring chances', so provided their offensive players are performing, the Hammers have a much stronger chance of securing victory at United's expense this weekend.
Adrián, though, will have a big part to play in helping West Ham to a positive result. The goalkeeper has been one of the Hammers' most consistent performers this season and they will need him to be at his best when United make the trip to London on Sunday.
*WhoScored.com is a website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Follow @WhoScored on Twitter.
Manchester United
An in-depth look at how Manchester United could approach today's Barclays Premier League fixture
The possible starting XI
De Gea
Valencia Jones Rojo Shaw
Blind
Rooney Di Maria Januzaj
Falcao Van Persie
Valencia Jones Rojo Shaw
Blind
Rooney Di Maria Januzaj
Falcao Van Persie
The formation
Ever the student of the game, Louis van Gaal has tinkered with his tactical approach to matches throughout his first season with Manchester United. The Dutchman has utilised five different formations in the Red Devils' opening 23 Barclays Premier League matches.
In recent games, Van Gaal has opted for a 4-1-3-2 shape, with fellow countryman Daley Blind playing as the deep-lying central midfielder behind a very attacking front five.
At the back, Manchester United have also chopped and changed between a three (12 games) and four-man (eleven games) defence.
The playing style
Manchester United may not quite be playing with the fluency they famously showed under Sir Alex Ferguson, but Van Gaal's team are certainly finding different ways to win.
Defensively, the Red Devils press the opposition all over the field, including the opposition half. This approach sees them regularly win possession back in advanced areas of the pitch.
When they regain the ball in their own half, Manchester United possess the pace and attacking potency to counter-attack decisively and at speed.
Full-backs Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw both love to romp forward into the space in front of them, latching on to short passes or longer diagonal balls. When they have the ball, the quality in the team means they still enjoy impressive possession statistics - 59.3% on average - and complete a Barclays Premier League-high 85% of their passes.
Central to Manchester United's control of matches has been the form of Dutch international central midfielder Blind and former West Ham star Michael Carrick, who both complete 89.6% of their passes.
Further forward, the front five have superb mobility, creating space for themselves and their team-mates. From set places, Wayne Rooney and Angel Di Maria both provide superb deliveries.
Perhaps the one criticism of Manchester United this season has been their inability to turn possession into goals. In 23 league matches, the Red Devils have scored 39 goals - an average of 1.7 goals per game. While that total is good enough for fourth-best in the top-flight, it is significantly lower than Chelsea (52) and Manchester City (46) - the two clubs above them in the table.
This relative shortage is perhaps the result of unleashing just 12.5 shots per game on average - just the eleventh highest in the Barclays Premier League and 0.7 lower than their hosts today.
The players
With a flat back four, Manchester United rely on their full-backs to be both defenders and attackers. To that end, Ecuadorian Valencia and England youngster Shaw are the perfect athletes to fill those positions.
In midfield, Van Gaal is almost employing the same diamond formation that has proved so successful for Sam Allardyce and West Ham United. Blind sits deep, utilising the time and space he is afforded to prompt Manchester United's attacks, with Wayne Rooney and Adnan Januzaj tucked in on their respective flanks. Argentina star Di Maria has been deployed recently in a more advanced position behind the front two, using the space between the lines to run at pace, with and without the ball.
The front pair of Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao have worked well together as they have played together increasingly often. There is now a clear understanding there between the two experienced attackers, co-ordinating their movement effectively.