Premier League: Magic Mike Heads Back to the East End

West Ham United vs Manchester United

He can do no wrong since his return to Old Trafford, winning four Premier League games in a row, and now Manchester United interim boss Michael Carrick is going back to where it all started. 

As a fresh-faced 17-year-old from the North East, Carrick started his football life at West Ham United, where he played 136 games and began his England career, before moving on to Tottenham Hotspur and then Manchester United where he had a trophy-laden 12 years, winning five Premier Leagues and a Champions League medal. 

His managerial career started back in the North East with Middlesbrough where he came close to success, but left in 2025 after missing out on the Championship play-offs twice. Only a month ago Carrick was touted as the next West Ham United manager with Nuno Espirito Santo’s Hammers floundering in the bottom three. But the Red Devils board potted Ruben Amorim and Carrick returned to the scene of his greatest playing success. 

Meanwhile, Nuno has led West Ham to a run of three wins in five league games, beating Burnley 2-0 on Saturday to climb to within three points of safety. Meanwhile, Manchester United beat ten-man Tottenham by the same score line, to move up to fourth place in the Premier League table and within three points of third-placed Aston Villa. 

Carrick is riding on the crest of a wave at the moment but he meets his old club at a time when it has just come alive and that makes this clash, on Tuesday night at the London Stadium, such a fascinating prospect.    

 

Talking Points

Nuno has his players playing the ‘West Ham way’ 

Just when his job seemed to be under threat, for the second time this season, Nuno has pulled a good run of Premier League 2026 results out of the hat, winning four of the last five, losing only a five-goal thriller to Chelsea, and scoring 11 goals along the way. This SBOTOP writer watched the battle of the Clarets through his fingers; the first 45 minutes for Burnley were almost as painful as the abject display Scott Parker’s men put on at Sunderland only five days earlier. But West Ham took advantage of their lacklustre hosts with two well-taken goals, the first brilliantly finished by Crysencio Summerville, and the second superbly crafted for Valentin Castellanos to glance home a header. 

While Burnley had more possession and three times as many shots as their visitors, it was West Ham who played the more attractive football, orchestrated by the excellent Jarrod Bowen; and if they continue in this vein the Hammers will survive; and that is bad news for Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Crystal Palace.               

 

Bruno backs his boss  

The Red Devils have long been in the shadows of their biggest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool, who are set to meet at Anfield on Sunday by the way; but a run of four wins has taken them up among the elite again and Carrick is determined to keep them there for as long as he can. The latest Premier League 2026 betting odds have just nudged the resurgent Reds back into a top four place too; and a win at the London Stadium is a must if they are to stay there.

Manchester United swept aside Spurs on Saturday after their captain Cristian Romero had been sent off for a dangerous tackle, with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and skipper Bruno Fernandes. And the Portuguese star, who has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford for some time, was all smiles after the win, saying: “It’s incredible. The energy is different because we win, everything looks brighter. Carrick came in with the right ideas, giving the players responsibility and freedom on the pitch.

“It’s very good,” said Fernandes. “I was sure he would be a great manager and he is showing it. We hope we can help him even more.”          

 

History 

Manchester United have bossed this relationship with 38 wins from the last 65 encounters while the Hammers have picked up 13 wins and 14 draws. At the London Stadium it has been a closer affair with 12 victories for the Red Devils, nine for the East End boys and nine draws. This fixture last season ended in a 2-1 home win while the two teams played out a 1-1 draw when they met at Old Trafford two months ago.  

Both teams are in good form with four wins from the last six, West Ham losing two while Manchester United have drawn one and lost one.  

 

Betting Tip

With the Red Devils at odds of 1.77 to win and the Hammers at 3.84 with the draw at 3.60, it looks like Carrick can make it five from five; but while West Ham looked shaky in defence at times at Burnley they have found their spark again and I suspect they could be the team to stop their old friend’s bandwagon.   

   

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