Manchester United v West Ham United Betting Tips

This EFL League Cup is a repeat of the match held as recently as Sunday and sees two Premier League sides who are struggling, albeit at different ends of the table, come head-to-head in this League Cup tie.

Tempers flared in that match on Sunday and it saw Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho sent to the stands.

Despite Mourinho saying his aim was to win the Premier League title when he arrived at Manchester United back in the summer, this now looks a long way off and indeed impossible given their own poor form and the good results of other title hopefuls. The Red Devils have won just one match in their last seven Premier League games and it really looks like the most they can hope for is the top four and Champions League football rather than the title crown itself.

Mourinho has always taken the League Cup quite seriously – we saw him place a lot of importance on it when he first arrived at Chelsea over a decade ago. It has been a bit of a saving grace for the Portuguese this season as well with his team winning their first two matches in the competition – the second of those coming against city rivals Manchester City.

It will certainly be interesting to see if Mourinho places so much emphasis on the League Cup this season or whether he will simply throw all his eggs in one basket and just look to ensure Champions League qualification for next season.

He did play a strong side against Manchester City and I think he could do the same here as he realises how important it is to win a trophy in your first season as Manchester United manager. Unfortunately for Mourinho, he is without several midfield players, including Paul Pogba, and so may have to reshuffle the pack in the middle of the park.

After such a good season last year, West Ham have been pretty abysmal and are currently languishing towards the bottom of the Premier League table, just one point above the relegation trap door.

Slaven Bilic’s side had a good result at the weekend by drawing at Old Trafford but he knows that The Hammers focus is now on Premier League survival so he may well opt to change the team on Wednesday.

Although they find themselves in the League Cup quarter-final, the Londoners have not actually been that impressive in the competition. First it took a last minute Dmitri Payet free-kick to overcome League Two Accrington Stanley before just about beating a weakened Chelsea team 2-1 in the previous round, despite fielding a strong side.

Even with Manchester United in the chaos they are, I expect them to beat West Ham on Tuesday. The League Cup allows The Red Devils to take their straitjackets off and express themselves a bit more without the pressure of a Premier League match. Additionally, The Hammers have been terrible away from home this season with just the one win and one clean sheet in nine matches.

Firstly, ‘Manchester United to Win & Over 2.5 Goals’, at 11/10, looks a good bet. I feel this is very good value for money as it allows for a tight game as well as something a bit more expansive. A narrow 2-1 home win would see you over the line here but I feel with West Ham’s dodgy defence it could be a few more. On this basis, ‘Manchester United to Win by Two or More Goals’ at Evens. I expect Mourinho’s men to have a real go at West Ham and punish them by at least a two goal margin. They threw pretty much everything at the visitors in Sunday’s league match only to see Darren Randolph pull off a string of good saves; however, lighting isn’t likely to strike twice and this is a great opportunity for United to right those wrongs.

See more tips here.