The 3 key battles as West Ham face Manchester United in the Premier League

West Ham host Manchester United this evening (5.15pm kick-off) as both sides look to begin 2017 with victory in the Premier League.

Slaven Bilic’s Hammers saw their three-game winning streak come to an end at champions Leicester on New Year’s Eve, with Islam Slimani scoring the only goal to secure Claudio Ranieri’s side a 1-0 win at the King Power Stadium.

That was West Ham’s first defeat since they were trounced 5-1 by Arsenal back on December 3, but they’ll return to the London Stadium hoping to clinch a third successive home league victory, having beaten Burnley and Hull prior to Christmas.

However, they will come up against one of the form teams in the Premier League, as Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United have won their last five league matches, and are on the cusps of the top four once again.

The Red Devils left it late to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at Old Trafford on New Year’s Eve, with goals from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba securing the victory, and they’ll hope to keep the pressure on the sides above them by picking up another three points this evening.

In what is likely to be an exciting encounter at the London Stadium, here are the THREE key battles which could go some way to determining the outcome this evening…