Manchester United undroppable could be the difference vs Nottingham Forest

West Ham were eighth before kick-off against Manchester United last week and their current sixth-place standing is a reminder of how dismal United continue to be away from home against top-half teams.

United's only win on the road under Erik ten Hag against a top-ten team was Fulham in November last year and they have not triumphed at a side in the top eight since Tottenham in October 2021. Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked by Spurs two days later.

Now he is the manager at Nottingham Forest, 16th in the table. United have beaten the four teams below them - three of them away from Old Trafford - this season and they won all of their away games against the bottom six last term.

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Or trickier against the Tricky Tree?

Forest away would have looked more treacherous for United between full-time at St James' Park and kick-off at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. Forest became only the fourth team to inflict a home defeat on Newcastle in the Premier League under Eddie Howe. They were also unfortunate to lose in Espirito Santo's first match in charge against Bournemouth when Forest were handicapped by the worst on-pitch refereeing decision this term.

The challenge for Forest is to demonstrate the clinical win on Tyneside was not an anomaly. Espirito Santo oversaw tremendous progress at Wolves and Forest have to aim for a similar status.

Unchanged attack?

The win against Aston Villa was United's best attacking performance of the campaign. They created more chances in the win over Chelsea but they are more dysfunctionally run than United and the team is more chaotic.

Kobbie Mainoo and Christian