Paul Ince believes that West Ham United will get off to the worst possible start to the new Premier League season against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
The former England international believes that the Hammers will suffer a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
The East London club managed to come away with a 1-1 away draw in the league against United last season but they also suffered a humiliating 4-1 loss to them in the EFL Cup in Manchester.
The Hammers suffered an opening day defeat last season when they travelled to Stamford Bridge and conceded a last-gasp Diego Costa goal to lose 2-1 in the London derby to the eventual champions.
West Ham have enjoyed opening day success away from home against a top team in the Premier League as they picked up an impressive 2-0 victory against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate in the 2015-16 season.
Writing in his new column for the Express, Ince has based his prediction on how both sides have fared in their pre-season matches this summer.
“I watched West Ham play City last week, and they were torn to bits, to be fair – they were beaten very comfortably,” he said.
“United, on the other hand, have looked good, despite a tough pre-season with games against the top sides.
“I thought they looked good against Real Madrid in the Super Cup and expect them to improve again on Sunday.”
OPINION
It is going to be a very difficult task for West Ham to take home all three points on Sunday. Manchester United are likely to start with new summer signing Romelu Lukaku who has a wonderful record against the Hammers, notching up nine goals against them in just 11 appearances in all competitions. History is also not their side as they have not managed to win at Old Trafford in the Premier League since 2007. However, the Hammers might be able to knick a point with goalkeeper Joe Hart and defender Pablo Zabaleta likely to be fired up for the match given their Manchester City past. New striker Javier Hernandez will also be out to show United what they have been missing up front over the last few seasons.