Benjamin Sesko breaks West Ham hearts with late Man Utd equaliser

Michael Carrick joked the viral fan hoping for a long-awaited haircut will not be making it into his team talk as Manchester United head to West Ham looking for a fifth straight Premier League win.

Frank Ilett has racked up more than two million social media followers since pledging in October 2024 to grow his hair until the Red Devils secured five victories in a row.

Erik ten Hag was in charge at the start of a challenge that could end after nearly 500 days if Carrick can continue his winning record since succeeding Ruben Amorim by beating his former club West Ham on Tuesday.

The former midfielder has not been keeping a close eye on the viral stunt but learned about “The United Strand” through his children.

“I can say I’m aware of it, yeah,” Carrick said with a smile. “My kids have made me aware of it, if anything, but it certainly won’t go into the team talk from a professional level.

“I can understand what’s going on with it and it does make me smile but it won’t have an impact ultimately in the end.”

Opportunity knocks for United, who can move eight points clear of sixth-place Liverpool with victory at the London Stadium. Arne Slot’s team face a stringent test at Sunderland tomorrow night, without a specialist right-back to select from.

Man Utd have lost each of their last three league games at West Ham though, while Nuno Espirito Santo also boasts a very respectable record against them. Across 11 league matches in charge of Wolves, Nottingham Forest and West Ham against United, Nuno has only lost three.

West Ham have won three of their last four games, and in the one game they lost in that run they raced into a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge. A front four of Crysencio Summerville, Taty Castellanos, Pablo and Jarrod Bowen has been causing problems; let’s see if they stick with that front-footed approach against a United team who look potent.

Full team news on the way shortly.