West Bromwich Albion FC
Manchester United FC
Manchester United FC
Manchester United out for redemption against a surely-doomed West Brom
Manchester United to win 3-0
Manchester United will have been kicking themselves all week after dropping two points from a losing position against Everton, denied the victory with almost the last kick of the ball in the 95th minute.
Those lost points will undoubtedly harm their chase of close rivals Manchester City, who can extend their lead to eight points this weekend with a win, as they play 24 hours earlier.
Here, second from top faces second from bottom, and United will need no extra incentive to return to winning ways than by facing a team who have only won twice all season.
West Brom seem to be falling further away from safety, rather than storming towards it as they were meant to under new management.
After beating Wolves a month ago, West Brom have since slumped to three defeats from their next four and are in danger of being overtaken by basement boys Sheffield United this weekend.
Form Guide (all comps): LLDLL
Reasons to be cheerful:
Have had a week’s rest whereas United played in midweek
Will look to Sheffield United’s win over Red Devils as inspiration
Reasons to be fearful:
No side has won fewer matches this season
Conceding almost 2.5 goals a game on average is disastrous
Time is quickly running out for West Brom to make a comeback this season, with the club now sitting 11 points adrift of Burnley and safety.
Bringing in new manager Sam Allardyce simply has not worked, with the club picking up just five points from a potential 27 available, watching teams like Brighton and Burnley pulling away from the bottom three.
Recently they have had excellent opportunities to help their situation, facing fellow strugglers Sheffield United and Fulham, however claimed just a single point from those fixtures.
The Baggies won’t be expected to take points from these sorts of matches, but could take inspiration from Sheffield United, who earned a shock win over the Reds Devils a couple of weeks ago.
They are huge underdogs here.
Star Man – Ainsley Maitland-Niles
The Arsenal loanee impressed in his debut against Spurs and can add pace and quality to this West Brom side.
Form Guide (all comps): LDWDW
Reasons to be cheerful:
Cup win in midweek returned them to winning form
Away record is the best in the league
Reasons to be fearful:
Lost in their last game against relegation favourites Sheffield United
Will fear dropping further being Man City
As Manchester United found out against Sheffield United two weeks ago, allowing complacency to creep into your mentality is a dangerous game.
Here, they face another relegation favourite, though will be expected to gain three points and ensure the gap to Manchester City does not widen further.
They will also be desperate to prove that they have blown away the cobwebs of their disappointing draw against Everton last weekend, although narrowly squeezed past West Ham in the FA Cup a few days ago.
Positively, there are no new injury concerns for United, though it remains to be seen whether Solskjaer will rotate one or two of his more senior players. They’ve only taken five points from the last 12 available, a run which followed four straight victories.
They must return to winning ways here.
Star Man – Edinson Cavani
Only played half an hour in the cup game in midweek, so should be fresh here. United’s number 7 has made himself their first-choice centre forward.
United will boss possession, likely 65% and over
If they score early, it could be game over
West Brom must keep things tight
Manchester United know they must start the game brightly in order to shake off the cobwebs of their last league outing, a 3-3 draw where they conceded with the last kick of the game.
For West Brom, a point barely helps their chances of survival, though they’ll certainly take that over another thrashing.
Unfortunately, they’re unlikely to earn anything here, with United clear favourites to claim three points.
Manchester United to win 3-0
