Ten points and 10 places apart in the Premier League table before the start of gameweek 14, Manchester United and West Ham United round off the midweek action at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
The Red Devils reignited their revival over the weekend with a 2-1 comeback triumph at Crystal Palace, while the Irons were left to rue a nonsensical Lucas Paqueta red card in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
One retaken penalty and two free kicks later, Man United snapped Crystal Palace’s longest-ever unbeaten home record in the Premier League, conquering the Eagles at a ground where Oliver Glasner’s side had previously gone 12 straight games without defeat.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s second bite at the spot-kick cherry put the Eagles in front, but the formerly misfiring Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount both benefited from Bruno Fernandes’ free kicks to turn the tide in the Red Devils’ favour.
A successful away day was exactly what the doctor ordered for Man United after their lowly home loss to 10-man Everton, and the Red Devils enter gameweek 14 in seventh place in the table, just three points adrift of Chelsea in third spot.
After overseeing four defeats from his side’s first seven matches of the new season in all tournaments, Ruben Amorim has presided over just one loss from Man Utd’s last seven games, but the Portuguese is at risk of setting yet another unwanted Red Devils record.
Should the hosts lose on Thursday, Amorim would have suffered 10 Premier League defeats at Old Trafford in just 20 matches, thus reaching 10 top-flight home losses in a quicker time than any other Man United manager.
Festive cheer was also in short supply for Man United last winter, as they are on a three-game Premier League losing run in the month of December, failing to score a single goal in that time.
After missing Man Utd’s last two matches with a head injury - one that was sustained in a training-ground accident - Matheus Cunha is back in training with the Red Devils and on course to be available on Thursday evening.
However, Mount and Zirkzee arguably have no right to lose their spots in the first XI after their confidence-boosting goals at Selhurst Park, so Cunha may have to settle for a place on the bench.
The Brazilian’s anticipated return would leave Benjamin Sesko (knee) and Harry Maguire (thigh) as the hosts’ only two absentees, after Lisandro Martinez made his long-awaited return from a knee injury as a late substitute on Sunday.
Amorim revealed in his press conference that his side have another couple of doubts, although he refused to name names.
Cunha’s compatriot Paqueta will sit out this fixture through suspension after his referee rant over the weekend - already his second ban of the season after a totting-up of yellow cards - but Santo can explore a couple of avenues to replace him.
Crysencio Summerville is also out for the Hammers, while Lukasz Fabianski and Oliver Scarles are also absent from the squad.
It’s an evening kickoff in the UK, which means a 3:00 p.m. kickoff on the East Coast of the U.S.
The match is on Sky Sports Premier League in the UK. Those Stateside can watch on USA or NBC Sports streaming. In Canada, it’s on DAZN and Fubo.
Everyone else, head on over to [**LiveSoccerTV**](https://www.livesoccertv.com/teams/england/manchester-united/) to find your viewing options.
**Manchester United possible starting lineup:**
Lammens; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Dalot, Fernandes, Ugarte, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Mount; Cunha