West Ham face a trip to Manchester United on October 29 with the worry that too often the London side have come away with little in previous meetings with the Red Devils and also that United are a decent form at home, having won four and drawn two of their last six games. United also have a devastating goal difference at Old Trafford in those six games - 13 goals scored and only two conceded.

West Ham, on the other hand, do not have too much to sing about, with their away form showing one victory and with five defeats from the last six.

West Ham will have to face a determined Manchester United side who are trailing league leaders Liverpool by eight points, albeit with a game in hand. United have improved greatly in their recent matches, with Wayne Rooney scoring goals galore and Dimitar Berbatov gradually starting to find his way about his new team.

With two points spilled at Goodison Park against Everton, it is certain that Alex Ferguson will want his men to take the three points to stay in touch with both Liverpool and Chelsea.

United dominated the first half at Goodison and deservedly took the lead when Darren Fletcher ran onto Ryan Giggs' pass to slot home after 22 minutes. However, Marouane Fellaini has halted the marching United side, who started the season shakily but improved greatly, to cap a fine recovery for Everton with his header, earning the Toffees a point in the process.

Ferguson is banking on his Rio Ferdinand to be inspirational against West Ham, as he often has been against the club where he started his profesisonal career. Ferdinand has been one of United's most consistent performers over the last recent seasons, but Ferguson feels he will only get better as he enters the peak years of his career.

"Rio's best years are in front of him," Ferguson told the club's official website. "He is easily going to play for the next five years. He looks after himself and he is very fit so I would expect him to be here for that length of time.

"Now we are seeing more edge to his game and more of a contribution in terms of being voluble towards his team-mates. He is much better at that."