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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Nathan Bliss

West Ham vs Manchester United simulated in FIFA 20 ahead of Premier League clash

Manchester United travel to London to take on West Ham this weekend, hoping to pick up from where they left off against Leicester City last time out, but they do have some injury problems to contend with.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be without the likes of Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial against the Hammers, with winger Daniel James also a doubt ahead of the match.

This means Ashley Young could feature at left-back, with Fred, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard all fighting for a recall to the first XI.

So, how will United get on against West Ham at the weekend? And, what XI will Solskjaer pick?

We used FIFA 20 to predict the outcome of West Ham vs Manchester United - just for a bit of fun.

West Ham vs Manchester United score predicted using FIFA 20

To set up this simulation, we used kick-off mode within FIFA 20 but didn't select a team to control; we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a unique prediction.

The AI difficulty was set to world class, with the line-up updated with the latest transfers, injuries and suspensions.

We predict that West Ham will set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows; Fabianski; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Noble; Felipe Anderson, Lanzini, Yarmolenko; Haller.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

We predict that Manchester United will set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the line-up as follows: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Young; McTominay, Pogba; James, Lingard, Greenwood; Rashford.

United started the game on the front foot, controlling possession and the game, despite their injury problems.

United's first chance of the game came in the 10th minute, with Fred having a shot with his weaker right foot from just outside the area. The Brazilian's effort went just past the post.

A dull first half ensued with the two sides effectively cancelling each other out.

That was until just before half-time, when in the 45th minute of the game, Marcus Rashford made it 1-0.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

After some good work from James on the left, he cut inside and passed the ball into the feet of Rashford, who turned and shot in one movement, beating Fabianski at the far post.

The second-half followed a similar pattern to the first, with United having the majority of possession, but not really creating all that much. West Ham were became more and more of a threat as the game went on.

The Hammers should have been level in the 70th minute, after a deep cross from Felipe Anderson from the left found Yarmolenko, who had out jumped Ashley Young, but the Ukrainian's header went just over the bar.

A real let off for United.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

The home side were seeing a bit more of the ball towards the final stages, but United held on to claim an important, if an unspectacular, three points.

Full-time score: West Ham 0-1 Manchester United

Here are the full-time match stats.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

As you can see, there were very few chances in the game, with a low number of shots for both sides.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was United's best player, putting in a good performance defensively and offensively.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

However, Jesse Lingard did not play well, losing possession seven times.

This FIFA 20 simulation predicts that United will, just about, beat West Ham this weekend, but only because of one moment of quality from Rashford, in an otherwise uneventful match.

   
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