West Bromwich Albion hosts Manchester United at their home ground, The Hawthorns on Monday. The Red Devils, as they are known, are coming in fresh after a two back to back victories to claim their position on the top four. Manchester United are looking strong, but the match may not as breezy as expected. The Baggies may put a dent in the fortunes of ManU, it is a faint, but present possibility. This is because just before the International break, they had two victories and lost only to Liverpool by a very small margin; they cannot be written off so easily. It is suggested that they have the potential to slice through the back end of the Manchester defence, which has been a little weak of late. It seems more than likely that both teams will be scoring in the match.
West Brom’s Saido Berahino is having a great season so far, and has scored six goals in the last nine matches and five of them have at home in the Hawthorns. The Red Devils, though have not lost a single match at the hawthorns, in fact the Baggies have lost every single match in the last seven encounters at home except one, which was a draw. United, on the outset is looking weak after their encounter and victory over Everton has left a good portion of their team in the treatment room. There are nine injured players in the Manchester United team as of now.
The list includes important players like- Paddy McNair, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, each with hamstring injuries, Jonny Evans and Michael Carrick with ankle injuries, Jesse Lingard with a hurt knee, Chris Smalling with a thigh issue and Ashley Young with groin damage. Ander Herrera, who was taken in with a rib fracture has declared that the injury is not very severe and can get back on the field with a shot of painkillers. Wayne Rooney will be forced to sit this one out due to the three match ban that he faces.
The greater threat for United are the matches that follow, for which the team needs their top tier players for they will face off against the premier league rivals, Chelsea and Manchester City.
West Brom is facing only two omissions Anichebe, who had a hernia, Yacob who opted out due to personal reasons. The team is playing with most of their tested squad that they have retained, with Berahino leading the attack.
Even though Manchester United is bogged down by injuries, it is highly unlikely that they will lose this match and they have not won any of the last five matches played away from home this season. They have the power to deliver a lot of goals but their defence is a bit weak, and may even concede a few goals to the opposition. West Brom is looking strong, but may just not be strong enough to halt the onslaught of the Red Devils.