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Premier League Betting Preview: Manchester United vs. West Ham

On Sunday Jose Mourinho will begin his second season as manager at Manchester United. The Portuguese manager has recruited heavily in the summer, spending over £150m on forward Romelu Lukaku, defender Victor Lindelof and Chelsea's Nemanja Matic. United, along with their rivals Manchester City, have spent more on transfers than the entirety of the French league, and fans will be looking to ensure that the club's performances match that spending. Despite finishing 6th last year Manchester United won the Europa league, and after strengthening the spine of their squad are many people's favourites to win the league.

Their Premier League opener will come up against a West Ham team attempting to finish the season in the top four. In order to take them into the Champions League the Hammers have signed former United player Javier Hernandez (Chicharito). The Mexican spent five years at Manchester United before leaving for Bayern Leverkusen in 2015. During his time in Manchester he averaged a goal every three games, and with a 20m price tag the London club will be hoping that he can be as prolific for them as he was for United. Speaking about his upcoming debut for West Ham he stated that "“There is nothing negative about going there. It’s going to be my first game with my new club, against my old club in my old house. It’s only positive things – it’s an important moment for me.”

The Mexican will have to start his second stint in the Premier League without the creative instincts of playmaker Manuel Lanzini, who is out of the Hammers' first two games after picking up a knock in training.

Despite the recent record between these two teams being fairly equal, with 3 draws and 1 win a piece in their last 5 matches, a win for United is expected. Skybet and Bet 365 give odds of 3/10 on Mourinho's men getting the season off to a winning start. Betfred offer 9/2 for a draw and 9/1 for a Hammers victory. Manchester United are also expected to score first, with new striker Romelu Lukaku seen as most likely with odds of 11/4 offered by BWIN and 188BET. Most bookmakers have placed new West Ham signing Hernandez at only 11/1 to break the deadlock.

Andreas Avraam