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West Ham's hierarchy have been supportive of Julen Lopetegui during his troubled tenure at the club.

So far, many of the club's new signings have not really bedded in, there has been no obvious transition in style from the David Moyes era, which many fans believed had run its course anyway, and results have not been great.

Even the two Premier League wins have been against underwhelming opponents in Crystal Palace and Ipswich.

What Lopetegui could really do with is a statement success against one of the bigger clubs.

But so far, matches against Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham in the Premier League have brought zero points and a combined score of 10-2. In addition, the Hammers lost 5-1 at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.

Manchester United's arrival at the London Stadium offers an opportunity to change the narrative. It is not as though Erik ten Hag's side have been playing well and they have a Thursday night European engagement in Turkey with an injury-hit squad to deal with.

If ever there was a time for Lopetegui to inspire a success, this is it.