West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester United
English Premier League 2016/17
Date: 17 December 2016
Time: 17:30 BST
Venue: The Hawthorns
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WEST BROM TEAM NEWS & PREVIEW
The Baggies have jumped to seventh position in the Premier League after winning 3-1 against Swansea in midweek.
They are flying high at the moment and have lost just once in their last six league games.
Their impressive run has been built on a strong home record, where they won their last three games and scored 10 goals during that period.
In fact, their only defeat since November came against Chelsea last Sunday at Stamford Bridge, where they played extremely well and were beaten by a moment of sheer individual brilliance from Diego Costa.
Jonny Evans missed West Brom’s win over Swansea in midweek through injury and the former Manchester United defender is a major doubt for this match as well.
Boaz Myhill is injured while Tony Pulis will be also without Saido Berahino, who is still short of match fitness.
West Brom Possible starting line up (4-2-3-1): Foster; Nyom, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt, Fletcher, Yacob, Chadli, Morrison, Phillips, Rondon
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS & PREVIEW
The Red Devils secured back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since August when they defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on Wednesday night, and the weekend betting tips at SBAT point to a third win in a row for United – despite West Brom’s rise up the table.
The victory at Selhurst Park saw United’s big-name signings – Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic – playing a huge role for the side. After much media speculation, Pogba’s consistent excellence on the pitch is finally being rewarded with goals and assists.
On Wednesday, Pogba scored the opening goal of the match with Ibrahimovic assisting before the midfielder turned into a provider for the Swede striker in the final few minutes.
Mourinho has bemoaned time and again that their side hasn’t been adequately rewarded in terms of points, but this time he will have no such complaints.
Having seen United conceding so many late goals, it was a welcome change for the United fans to find that their team scored a winner in the final few minutes – which had always been their trademark during the Sir Alex Ferguson era.
The three-man midfield used by Mourinho is reaping the best out of Pogba, who feels at home in this system. With Michael Carrick sitting deep and sprinkling passes all around and Ander Herrera doing the pressing work, Pogba is given the freedom to push forward and combine with the striker.
Eric Bailly picked up an injury during United’s 2-1 win over Palace on Wednesday and he will miss the trip to West Brom.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed the match against Palace after suffering an injury against Spurs last week, and he isn’t expected to feature against the Baggies as well.
Manchester United Possible starting line up (4-3-3): De Gea, Darmian, Rojo, Jones, Valencia, Herrera, Carrick, Pogba, Martial, Mata, Ibrahimovic
WEST BROM VS MANCHESTER UNITED KEY STATS
3 – West Brom have won their last three home games in the Premier League
7 – Manchester United are undefeated in their last seven Premier League games
WEST BROM VS MANCHESTER UNITED BETTING TIPS
Manchester United have scored in each of their last 10 games, while West Brom have scored in their last three games at home. Back both the teams to score at 10/11 with Ladbrokes.
Ibrahimovic has scored six goals in his last six games in all competitions and back him at 11/10 to score anytime in the match.
WEST BROM VS MANCHESTER UNITED PREDICTION
United do not need to focus on the league table at the moment. They just need to win and let the table take care of itself. West Brom are a strong side at home and they are expected to put up a strong challenge on Saturday.
Prediction: West Brom 1-2 Manchester United
