Premier League 2019/20: West Ham vs Man United – tactical analysis

As the first international break becomes a distant memory, teams in the Premier League refine their focus, aiming for a strong position going into the Christmas schedule. West Ham continued their impressive progress with a solid home win against a floundering Man United side. Without a penalty in sight, the visitors struggled to a disappointing 2-0 defeat, once again leaving the Olympic Stadium with nothing.

In this tactical analysis, we look at how both sides tactics made for a cagey, hard-fought match. The analysis will show how the Hammers won the game comfortably despite an xG of just 0.71.

Line Ups

West Ham lined up in a 4-1-4-1 system, with Declan Rice deployed as the holding midfielder, positioned in front of the back four. Forced changes for Manuel Pellegrini saw Aaron Cresswell  whose sumptuous free-kick doubled the hosts lead  replace the suspended Arthur Masuaku. Pablo Fornals started in midfield alongside Mark Noble, in place of the injured Manuel Lanzini. Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna continued to impress as the centre-back pairing; their physical presence bullied Man Uniteds forwards, not just in aerial duels but 1v1 duels too.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær stuck with the same team that narrowly beat Leicester last week. The visitors continued to rely on youth, registering the lowest average age of any starting 11 in this years Premier League campaign  25 years and 123 days. Marcus Rashford started upfront as the lone striker but become isolated and dragged too deep by Man Uniteds passive approach to the game. This had a knock-on effect on Juan Mata who also struggled to imprint anything on the game, he was often forced into wider areas due to the lack of central space afforded to him.

As mentioned, West Ham opted for a 4-1-4-1 shape, which was asymmetrical in operation. On the right-hand side, Ryan Fredericks supported his winger, Andriy Yarmalenko, by overlapping as the attacks developed down the right-hand side. This offered the Ukranian support and also more time on the ball as the defenders passed on their man to cover the overlapping runs.

The left offered a slightly different dynami