West Ham vs Manchester United LIVE!

Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus' second-half goals gave West Ham a 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League's early game on Saturday, as the Hammers briefly moved into the top six. Bowen bundled home from close range in the 72nd minute after a lovely one-two with Lucas Paqueta, who played in Kudus six minutes later to settle the game with a sharp finish.

The first half was low on quality and its best chance fell to Alejandro Garnacho in the 35th minute, but the winger lost his balance and shot straight at Alphonse Areola. Bowen broke the deadlock with his 11th league goal of the season, taking Paqueta's dinked ball in his stride before Onana's save rebounded off the forward and into the net. Paqueta then capitalised on Kobbie Mainoo's mistake to set up Kudus, who fired home past Onana to secure all three points for the hosts.

Read back the game below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis from Malik Ouzia.

West Ham vs Man United latest news

• GOAL! Kudus adds a quick second

• GOAL! Bowen breaks the deadlock

14:37 , Alex Young

Here are Malik Ouzia's player ratings.

Full-time!

14:28 , Alex Young

97min: That was all rather easy for West Ham once they got the first goal.

It's going to be a merry Xmas in east London.

14:22 , Alex Young

91min: Six minutes added on.

14:19 , Alex Young

90min: West Ham fans 'Ole'-ing their team now.

14:18 , Alex Young

88min: West Ham just going through the motions now.

14:14 , Alex Young

84min: Now Eriksen and Reguilon are coming on. Garnacho and Kambwala make way.

14:12 , Alex Young

82min: No response from United at all apart from bringing on Pellistri for Antony.

GOAL!

14:09 , Alex Young

78min: That wraps it up as Kudus holds off two defenders to fire home from the edge of the area.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

14:06 , Alex Young

At last, a moment of brilliance from Lucas Paqueta opens this miserable game up. Rather fitting the goal was effectively scored by a tackle.

GOAL!

14:03 , Alex Young

72min: That's more like it! Bowen breaks the deadlock by tucking past Onana at the second attempt after a superb pass from Paqueta.

14:01 , Alex Young

70min: Shaw sends United's first corner of the second half into the first man. Sums up this game.

13:59 , Alex Young

"What am earth am I writing about here?" asks my exasperated colleague Malik Ouzia from the London Stadium.

It's so lifeless you can hear the snap of lenses from the pitchside cameras.

13:54 , Alex Young

64min: West Ham are unable to keep a foot on the ball, yet United still do not look like scoring.

13:51 , Alex Young

61min: United boasting 63 per cent possession. You can't say they've done much with it.

13:46 , Alex Young

58min: Rashford replaces Hojlund.

SAVE!

13:46 , Alex Young

57min: Ward-Prowse whips in the corner and Bowen thunders a header at goal which Onana does very well to tip over.

Best Hammers chance of the game.

13:44 , Alex Young

55min: Rashford is being readied.

13:40 , Alex Young

51min: Fernandes gets booked for moaning about being penalised for a clear foul. He hasn't learned his lesson.

13:37 , Alex Young

48min: A bit of magic from Paqueta as he ghosts past Antony like he wasn't there, ducks into the area and lets fly but Wan-Bissaka is there to block.

Second half!

13:35 , Alex Young

46min: Back under way - some improvements please!

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

13:30 , Alex Young

No rhythm at all to the game. The last 15 minutes have basically been a series of free-kicks, none of which have come to anything.

Half-time!

13:19 , Alex Young

48min: That's your lot! It took a while to liven up but a few signs that we may have a game on our hands in the second half.

13:19 , Alex Young

48min: Ward-Prowse floats the free kick towards the back post but Soucek's header is well wide.

Half-time!

13:18 , Alex Young

47min: Now Evans is into the book after a foul on Kudus. Probably more for his reaction rather than the foul itself.

13:17 , Alex Young

45min: Huge groans from the home fans as the referee penalises Paqueta for a foul on Mainoo.

Three minutes added on.

13:14 , Alex Young

43min: Kudus is the first booking of the game after tripping Shaw. An interesting battle between those two.

13:11 , Alex Young

41min: Same drill to the edge of the area but Garnacho's first-time effort is weak.

13:11 , Alex Young

40min: The delivery is to the edge of the area and Mainoo's attempt at goal wins another corner kick.

13:10 , Alex Young

39min: Another opening for Garnacho as Mavropanos misjudges a pass and allows the youngster to nip, enter the area and win a corner.

13:08 , Alex Young

37min: Corner whipped in but there's a foul somewhere and it's a free kick to United.

13:07 , Alex Young

36min: Up the other end, Kudus breaks over the halfway line and finds Bowen to drive at goal before trying to return the favour... and wins a corner.

CHANCE!

13:06 , Alex Young

35min: Garnacho has to score! He is fed into the area by Hojlund but just can't get the ball out of his feet so his shot it weak.

Such a big chance. A sitter.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

13:05 , Alex Young

Players often say that the thing you don't realise until you play in the Premier League is the speed of it. Willy Kambwala must be wondering what all the fuss is about. Pedestrian stuff.

13:04 , Alex Young

33min: United's first shot on target as Antony looks to bend one from around 25 yards. Tamely sails into Areola's hands.

13:03 , Alex Young

32min: Soucek is back on, he'll be fine.

13:01 , Alex Young

29min: Soucek might have to come off here after suffering a cut to his head. He's getting looked at.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

13:00 , Alex Young

United look so hesitant, so fragile and yet West Ham haven't really put them under any consistent pressure yet. Strange game.

12:59 , Alex Young

25min: Superb defending from Shaw to disposess Kudus and start a counter and send Antony scampering after the ball... but Mavropanos mops up.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

12:54 , Alex Young

Absolutely staggering lack of intensity in this game. Both teams are properly going through the motions at the moment.

12:52 , Alex Young

20min: It feels like the game is being played exclusively in the centre circle.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

12:50 , Alex Young

The travelling fans are in great voice going through their Five Cantonas routine. Very little happening on the pitch.

12:46 , Alex Young

14min: United seeing most of the ball but not doing too much with it. Mainoo nicks the ball off of Kudus but is then quickly stopped by Soucek.

12:44 , Alex Young

11min: First half sight of the West Ham goal for the visitors as Shaw's deflected cross sails into Areola's arms.

12:42 , Alex Young

9min: Not too much going on outside of the middle of the pitch.

12:39 , Alex Young

6min: First sight of goal for either team as Emerson carves open some space to test Onana, who parries away to his left.

Malik Ouzia at London Stadium

12:38 , Alex Young

More than one person has said to me today that they've got a funny feeling today might be the day James Ward-Prowse equals David Beckham's free-kick record.

Would be quite underwhelming if it's a tame one chucked in by Onana, as he did against Hakim Ziyech a couple of times the other week.

12:38 , Alex Young

3min: An early touch from Kambwalla, who takes the ball in his stride and calmly finds a team-mate. That's called a settler.

12:37 , Alex Young

2min: A bit of a scrappy start from both teams.

Kick-off!

12:31 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

12:26 , Alex Young

Here come the teams!

12:20 , Alex Young

Kick-off is fast approaching. Here's Malik Ouzia with his pre-match thoughts.

12:09 , Alex Young

It's two changes for West Ham from the win over Wolves as Areola returns in goal - is he now first choice again? - and Mavropanos starts in defence.

Aguerd is missing from the squad.

The big news for Manchester United is Kambwalla's debut, but away from that captain Fernandes returns after suspension as Wan-Bissaka comes in at right-back for the suspended Dalot.

Eriksen is on the bench as he builds back his match fitness.

Ten Hag on Kambwalla

12:00 , Alex Young

"He's calm, he's made a good impression in training, but of course he's inexperienced and this is a big moment for him. He's athletic, calm on the ball and now he has his opportunity."

Willy Kambwala starts!

11:51 , Alex Young

So, who is Willy Kambwala? The 19-year-old centre-back makes his debut in the absence of Raphael Varane.

The six-foot-four defender joined United back in the summer of 2020 and signed professional terms a little over two years ago.

What a Christmas treat for the youngster, but he will have his hands full today.

Teams in full

11:39 , Alex Young

West Ham XI: Areola, Coufal, Zouma, Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri, Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Lucas Paqueta, Bowen

Subs: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Fornals, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Kehrer, Mubama

Manchester United XI: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Kambwala, Evans, Shaw, Mainoo, McTominay, Fernandes, Antony, Garnacho, Hojlund

Subs: Bayindir, Amrabat, Rashford, Eriksen, Reguilon, Pellistri, van de Beek, Mejbri, Bennett

West Ham XI

11:34 , Alex Young

Here's how the host look.

Man United XI

11:32 , Alex Young

A surprise name in defence!

11:24 , Alex Young

According to early suggestions, young defender Willy Kambwala starts for Manchester United today.

11:20 , Alex Young

Team news is imminent!

Ten Hag backs his squad

11:15 , Alex Young

Manchester United have a squad that can compete with the Premier League's top teams, says Erik ten Hag, backing his side to bounce back to their best when key players return from injury.

Ten Hag has had to contend with a string of injuries and is without the services of Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Victor Lindelof and Amad Diallo.

"I think what has definitely hurt (us) was we had, in crucial positions, we had the problems," Ten Hag told reporters on Friday. "You have to deal with that.

"But everyone understands when you have such key players who are not available, it will have a negative effect on results. Still, we are in a place where we can change this story, change this season.

"I am confident, when the players are back, we will have a good and strong squad. Liverpool were top of the league (last weekend), so we were competitive with them... This team, this squad, is strong when everyone is on board and we can beat anyone."

Moyes: I have a big keeper decision to make

10:56 , Alex Young

David Moyes admits he has a major decision to make over his two goalkeepers this afternoon.

Alphonse Areola began the season as number one with veteran Lukasz Fabianski relegated to being the Hammers' cup keeper.

But an injury to Areola thrust Fabianski back into the Premier League spotlight, and the 38-year-old looked back to his best as West Ham won three of their next four matches.

Fit-again Areola, 30, returned in midweek but hardly covered himself in glory in the 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool.

"I have got a decision to make," said Moyes. "At the start of the season I had a huge decision. Lukasz hadn't let us down but I felt Alphonse, because of his age, sadly, is probably the future.

"It wasn't a decision I enjoyed taking as Lukasz was so reliable. Unfortunately Alphonse got an injury and Lukasz has played quite well in the games.

"I think I have made my decision, but I will still take my time. We have got two very good keepers."

Score prediction

10:43 , Alex Young

Exactly which way this game swings depends on which of the various versions of both teams show up in the capital.

West Ham may be coming off the back of a heavy defeat but Moyes can hope his rotation risk pays dividends against a Man United team simply lacking any spark up front.

West Ham to win, 1-0.

Man United team news

10:32 , Alex Young

Diogo Dalot is suspended for Man United but Bruno Fernandes returns from his own one-match ban.

Anthony Martial has missed the last two games with illness while Harry Maguire, Mason Mount, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Victor Lindelof and Amad Diallo are all still unavailable, along with Jadon Sancho.

However, Christian Eriksen should be involved after returning to training this week following a knee injury. Ten Hag has confirmed that other unspecified players are also dealing with illness before the game.

West Ham team news

10:23 , Alex Young

David Moyes copped criticism for rotating his team for the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool, which at least means the likes of Kurt Zouma, James Ward-Prowse and Lucas Paqueta are well-rested for this game.

Michail Antonio remains the only injury worry for West Ham but Nayef Aguerd and Maxwel Cornet are suffering from illness.

Where to watch West Ham vs Man United

10:15 , Alex Young

TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 11am.

Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.

Welcome

10:08 , Alex Young

Welcome to the Standard's live coverage of the Premier League clash between West Ham and Manchester United.

It is due to be a cold afternoon at the London Stadium as both teams look to record a festive victory before Christmas firmly takes over the schedule.

Kick-off is at 12.30pm, with Malik Ouzia there for us.