West Ham United

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It is well known that Manchester United looked at 804 right-backs before deciding to spend £50m on Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the summer of 2019.

The former Crystal Palace player was not terrible during his 190 appearances for them, but neither did he look like he was worth the money either.

Wan-Bissaka's inconsistencies have followed him to London Stadium, where he was converted into a wing-back during Graham Potter's time at West Ham, and following Nuno Espirito Santo's arrival is now playing in defence again.

The Londoner enjoyed his two meetings with his old club last season, as West Ham won both. He also made a significant impact here as he headed Joshua Zirkzee's effort off the line in the first half.

Wan Bissaka's diligence might turn into a big asset in West Ham's scrap for survival, as could Soungoutou Magassa's eye for goal.

The £17m summer arrival from Monaco was making only his eighth Hammers appearance and started for just the fourth time.

But the way he latched on to Noussair Mazraoui's clearance and instantly drove it back beyond Senne Lammens - and then the way he celebrated - suggested he is determined to succeed.

It is an attitude that might be priceless in the months that lie ahead.

Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to BBC Match of the Day after West Ham's draw against Manchester United: "It was a good game. Knowing that we face a very tough opponent full of talented players, and that we were able to contain them. In the second half, we controlled the game, we dominated. We created chances. The game could have gone both ways. But I'm very pleased with the work that the boys did."

On Sougountou Magassa's first goal for West Ham: "It's always nice. It increases his confidence. But not only Magassa, I think all of the team played really well. The defence was OK. We created situations. Special mention to Jarrod [Bowen], who did an amazing job for the team. We are very pleased to have him as a captain."

On where the result leaves West Ham: "We try and try. It's really difficult to build with the urgency of the results, and the situation that we're in. But it's another step, there's still a long way to go, a lot of things to improve. As long as there's commitment and belief, we're going to do it."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Man Utd's performance

What did you make of West Ham's display?

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies

Matheus Cunha returns after a two-match absence with a head injury, one of three changes to the Manchester United side that beat Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Defender Matthijs de Ligt misses out completely, while Mason Mount and Leny Yoro drop to the bench as Noussair Mazraoui comes in and Ayden Heaven makes his first league start of the season.

United are aiming to end a run of four defeats in their last five against tonight's opponents

Manchester United XI: Lammens, Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw, Amad, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Dalot, Mbeumo, Cunha, Zirkzee.

Substitutes: Bayindir, Martinez, Mount, Malacia, Dorgu, Yoro, Ugarte, Mainoo, Lacey.

Playmaker Lucas Paqueta is ruled out for West Ham through suspension following his red card against Liverpool on Sunday.

Czech Republic midfielder Thomas Soucek is recalled, the only change to Nuno Espirito Santo's starting line-up from that defeat.

West Ham are without a number of experienced players who were substitutes at the weekend, including striker Niclas Fullkrug.

West Ham XI: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Diouf, Magassa, Potts, Bowen, Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Wilson.

Substitutes: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Rodriguez, Irving, Earthy, Marshall, Kante, Mayers.

Manchester United fought back to beat Crystal Palace on Sunday but they didn't really deserve it.

They are still a basket case of a club, and you could say the same about West Ham.

How can I predict what Ruben Amorim's side will do? No-one can. I can't get my head around them.

There is no reason to back them here, or West Ham either. The Hammers pushed Liverpool close on Sunday, but they did not really threaten very much despite the Reds being so vulnerable defensively at the moment.

There definitely won't be many goals in this game, but I already know I am going to be wrong about it.

In fact, I wish I didn't have to make a prediction here, but I've been told I have to.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say

Henry Cowling
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United returned to winning ways with just their fourth win in their past 27 trips to London when they beat Crystal Palace on Sunday and they now face another London club, this time at home, in struggling West Ham.

Midweek marvels

A midweek game under the lights at Old Trafford seems to be a formidable setting for Manchester United.

They are unbeaten in their past 17 Premier League home games played on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. They have won 14 of those, including the past eight in a row.

Their most recent midweek home defeat in the league came in May 2021 against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool. The stands were empty for that game because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Bah humbug

However, the festive period has proved tricky for Manchester United in recent times. The Red Devils have lost nine of their past 14 Premier League games in the month of December - including the past three in a row without scoring.

A 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth was followed up by a toothless showing at Molineux against Wolves, before United finished 2024 with a 2-0 loss to Newcastle at Old Trafford.

Joshua Zirkzee was substituted and booed off the pitch after just 32 minutes in the latter. Fast forward 12 months and he is back in the side, scoring the equaliser last time out against Palace - his first Premier League goal in 364 days.

Irons optimism

Although Manchester United have proved to be a difficult opponent for West Ham historically, there are reasons for Nuno Espirito Santo to be optimistic. The Hammers have beaten Manchester United in four out of their past five Premier League meetings, including a 2-0 win in this fixture last season.

That result ended a 16-game winless run away to Manchester United in the Premier League. On Thursday, the visitors could earn consecutive league victories at Old Trafford for the first time since 1934.

Captain Jarrod Bowen was on the scoresheet in three of those five games, including in both meetings between the sides last season. The player who most recently scored in three in a row against Manchester United for the Hammers was Jermain Defoe between 2001 and 2002.

Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez could leave AC Milan in January with West Ham and Sunderland interested in the 24-year-old. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

The Hammers are also closely monitoring Wolves' 32-year-old Portugal goalkeeper Jose Sa before the January transfer window. (Football Insider), external

Finally, Eintracht Frankfurt are no longer working on a January move for West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug but other Bundesliga sides remain interested in the Germany striker, including Wolfsburg. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham United supporters will be able to "pay their respects and offer tributes" to club legend Billy Bonds over the next few weeks at London Stadium, the club has announced.

The Hammers' record appearance maker and former captain, who played 799 times for the club and led them to two FA Cup titles, died on Sunday aged 79.

In a statement, the club announced, external: "We have created a temporary memorial area on the podium level, directly outside Turnstile J of the Billy Bonds Stand. This is located next to the European Champions statue, close to Billy's panel in the Champions Place stones."

The area will be open and accessible to visitors every day up to and including West Ham's next Premier League home game against Aston Villa on Sunday, 14 December.

That fixture will be used an opportunity for "the entire West Ham United family to come together to honour and celebrate his life and career", with the club confirming a number of planned tributes before kick-off and throughout the afternoon.

West Ham and Brentford are considering a January move for 20-year-old Portuguese defender Tiago Gabriel, but face competition from Juventus for the Lecce centre-back. (The i Paper), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Tyrese King
BBC Sport journalist

West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Crysencio Summerville is unlikely to be available: "He still has some issues and we are still assessing, so I think Thursday will be too soon."

• On the fitness of left-back Ollie Scarles: "Oli has started training with no contact but hasn't been cleared for full training yet. He has been involved with many parts of the session."

• On reinstating Alphonso Areola as first-choice goalkeeper: "We don't just have Alphonse, but also Mads Hermansen and Lukasz Fabianski, who are working really well. Alphonse is starting - I hope he continues helping the team."

• On Lucas Paqueta and the red card he received against Liverpool: "I spoke with Lucas, and he spoke not only with me but with all his team-mates. He apologised. He's aware of his mistakes. Sometime the emotions, you can't control them, but at the same time, everybody has a chance [to make up for it]."

• More on Paqueta: "He is not OK. He is suffering. He is disappointed and upset. But he realises the mistake that he made and he is willing to move forward. Sometimes people are not aware of the problems football players endure. But Lucas, I think, is going to overcome this situation."

• He added: "At the club, we have all the support the players need. We have processes in the club that help and we are willing to provide assistance here in the club."

• Asked whether reports linking Paqueta with a move to Manchester City in the summer may also be affecting the Brazilian, Nuno said: "I think that is over. It is finished - that is clear."

• Nuno said he has "all the respect" for Manchester United counterpart Ruben Amorim, adding: "They are a good team. You can see from the game against Crystal Palace that they really compete well. They are a tough opponent, full of talented players."

Follow all of Tuesday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

The Observer's Rory Smith says he has "sympathy" for what West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta "has been through" but his red card on Sunday cannot really been justified.

Paqueta said on X that his "ridiculous behaviour" that resulted in a red card in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool was a "reflection of everything I've had to endure".

A near-two-year Football Association investigation into the midfielder ended in July when he was cleared of spot-fixing charges by an independent regulatory commission.

On Sunday, Paqueta was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent by referee Darren England for arguing over a decision to award a foul against his team with six minutes left to play.

"I have sympathy for what he has been through and he is right to point out how it has affected him," said Smith on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "But there were so many points where he could have just walked away.

"To the point where Alisson - who does not play for West Ham - even tried to stop him from talking himself into a red card.

"That would suggest with them both being Brazilian that he is aware of some form of pressure he is under, or that his friend is struggling - but it was such a strange sending off."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt are no longer interested in West Ham forward Niclas Fullkrug. (Sky Sports Germany - in German), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

James Jones
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The word 'legend' in the modern game gets thrown around so often that fans find themselves disagreeing what does and does not constitute legendary status.

But there can be no arguments where Billy Bonds is concerned. Not to West Ham fans.

Voted West Ham's greatest ever player by fans in 2018, Bonds was and will forever remain the perfect example of what it means to be West Ham. Passion, tenacity, grit, loyalty and honestly; all traits that underline the identity of the club and its fanbase.

As London Stadium prepared to host Premier League champions Liverpool on Sunday afternoon and in the immediacy of the announcement of his passing just hours earlier, the Billy Bonds Stand stood taller and prouder than ever before.

Despite the sadness throughout the fanbase and the club, supporters arrived in Stratford fully prepared to show just what Bonds meant to them.

Captain Jarrod Bowen proudly raised a shirt with 'Bonds 4' on the back to the supporters in the Billy Bonds Stadium just before kick-off and the fans spent much of the game chanting 'Billy Bonds' Claret & Blue Army' regardless of what they were seeing on the pitch.

Victory over an out-of-form Liverpool felt almost inevitable given the backdrop of Sunday afternoon's game but unfortunately, it was not to be. The result also felt somewhat irrelevant on the day the club lost its ultimate legend.

Football does not make players like Bonds anymore and it says all you need to know about the type of player and person he was that his loss is being felt beyond just the confines of east London.

He will be sorely missed but proudly remembered, with his legacy immortalised in claret and blue forever more.

Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham, external

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Teams sitting on 11 points or fewer after 13 Premier League games are usually in some trouble, but history shows survival is far from impossible.

Eight sides have managed to escape from that position, most recently Nottingham Forest in 2022-23, who had only nine points at this stage, yet pulled clear under Steve Cooper.

Perhaps the most striking example is Crystal Palace in 2013-14. The Eagles had just seven points after 13 matches and looked destined for relegation, but a managerial reset changed everything.

Ian Holloway departed on 23 October, Tony Pulis arrived a month later, and under the former Stoke boss, Palace surged to an 11th-place finish with 45 points. Caretaker Keith Millen bridged the gap with four games in between.

Interestingly, of the eight sides who survived from such a low base, only three made managerial changes mid-season: Palace (Pulis for Holloway), West Brom (Bryan Robson replacing Gary Megson) and Southampton (Mauricio Pochettino for Nigel Adkins).

For the others, stability rather than upheaval proved the route to safety - food for thought for West Ham, Leeds United, Burnley and Wolves who are either at or under that 11-point mark through 13 games this season.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between West Ham and Liverpool

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Chris: Disappointed we didn't ask more of a nervous Liverpool team as we weren't totally outclassed. In fact, both teams were misfiring in the final third. Madness from Paqueta and Bowen needs to do more as captain to shut him down. We move on - the signs are still positive despite the result.

Michael: Paqueta is an absolute liability and he has cost us on more than one occasion. Need to get rid and reinvest in players who want to play for the club. As fans, we definitely deserve better.

Harry: Not a very good tribute or farewell to our legend Billy Bonds - a player who fought for his badge and bled claret and blue. There was no fight from West Ham against a tired, poor Liverpool team. No shot on target. The only fight we saw was from Paqueta, which resulted in a red card. Bowen, our captain, didn't control the situation as he could have done - instead, he just stood there and let it happen. Awful performance and a wasted opportunity.

Bern: Rubbish - no energy, played at half speed like a training match. Allowed Liverpool to dominate possession without presenting any kind of threat.

Liverpool fans

Ben: I wonder how many of us saw that coming? A win, a clean sheet and a goal from Isak! Let's hope it won't lull us into a false sense of security. The team need to build on it and not fall back into the performances they have been giving us. Slot's job is safe... for now...

Alan: Much better. Plenty of aggressive play in the midfield and winning second balls, which has been missing for far too long. Dropping Salah was a good decision and playing Wirtz in a more familiar role gave more momentum to the attacks. Not there yet, but so much better.

Killian: Not vintage but green shoots. I genuinely think Slot was done had we lost. Wirtz was great and Isak grew into the game. Kerkez was better. Massive game against Sunderland on Wednesday. Come on Slot and the lads!

Mark: Well, the result was needed but, again, the performance wasn't good enough. Gomez was a good addition in defence and should have been there for weeks. Good to see Isak finally score, but he isn't the right player for us. Ekitike being back is great news. Still a lot of work to be done but three points is a must from our next game, otherwise nothing has changed and we cannot continue in this vain.

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

There's a London derby as Chelsea take on Arsenal, Manchester United travel to Crystal Palace, and struggling Wolves make the short journey to Aston Villa. Elsewhere, West Ham entertain Liverpool and Nottingham Forest face Brighton.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Aston Villa 1-0 Wolves

• Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brighton

• West Ham 0-2 Liverpool

• Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

Image source, Getty Images

This was a game overshadowed by the shattering news about Hammers icon Bonds, one of the greatest leaders and players ever to represent the club.

The former defender was a symbol of West Ham's spirit, with the East Stand at London Stadium renamed after him in 2019 - an honour which moved him to tears when he addressed supporters at the time.

It was in this subdued atmosphere the Hammers faced a Liverpool side desperate to revive their fortunes after their struggles.

But Nuno Espirito Santo's team produced a lacklustre performance as they remained on 11 points, only out of the bottom three on goal difference.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was barely troubled, with the only serious anxiety coming near the end when Jarrod Bowen fired a good opportunity off target.

As for Lucas Paqueta, only he will know what possessed him to get into a nonsensical verbal exchange with referee England following Niclas Füllkrug's foul on Dominik Szoboszlai - a debate the Brazilian refused to stop until he received the two yellow cards and was dismissed.

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta says his "ridiculous behaviour" that resulted in a red card in the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool was a "reflection of everything I've had to endure."

A near-two-year Football Association investigation into the Brazil midfielder ended in July when he was cleared of spot-fixing charges by an independent regulatory commission.

On Sunday, Paqueta was shown two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent by referee Darren England for arguing over a decision to award a foul against his team with six minutes left to play.

"It's ridiculous to have your life and career affected for two years without any psychological support from the federation," Paqueta posted on X after the game.

"Perhaps this ridiculous behavior is just a reflection of everything I've had to endure and, it seems, have to continue enduring!

"I'm sorry if I'm not perfect."