Man Utd vs West Brom Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man & Predicted Score

Manchester United welcome West Bromwich Albion to Old Trafford on Saturday looking to get their Premier League title defence back on track.

The champions slumped to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester City last weekend to leave them sitting seventh in the table and five points adrift of early leaders Arsenal, so David Moyes will be demanding a response this weekend.

The United boss did manage to pick his side up to record a hard fought 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, with Javier Hernandez grabbing the winner just after half-time, but it’s retaining their Premier League title that’s the priority and three points this weekend is a must if they are to achieve that goal.

West Brom arrive following a grueling encounter with Arsenal in midweek that saw Steve Clarke’s men take the Gunners to penalties in their League Cup clash, with the north Londoners edging through in the end.

The Baggies have endured a difficult start to the season and only recorded their first victory of the new campaign last weekend with a 3-0 win over Sunderland – a result which led to the sacking of Paolo di Canio.

Team News

David Moyes has confirmed that Robin van Persie is back in contention this weekend after missing the last two games with a groin injury. Moyes is unsure whether he will start the Dutchman though and may opt to keep him in reserve with Wednesday’s trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League in mind.

United are expected to recall several first team regulars who were rested in midweek. The likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and Danny Welbeck are all expected to return to the first team fold.

Midfielder Marouane Fellaini was cup-tied in midweek so is likely to come back in while Javier Hernandez may keep his place up front after his goal-scoring exploits against Liverpool.

Steve Clarke also made several changes to his side in midweek so the likes of Anelka, McAuley, Ridgewell, Jones and Myhill are likely to be recalled.

Midfielder Claudio Yacob is pushing for a start but will have to prove his fitness after recovering from a dead leg. Striker Victor Anichebe is a doubt with an ankle injury but Chris Brunt, Matej Vydra, Zoltan Gera, George Thorne and Ben Foster all remain sidelined.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Wayne Rooney: The striker has been in good form of late and was the only United player to emerge with any credit from the Manchester derby last weekend. With RVP expected to be rested, we see Rooney as the one to watch this weekend.

Predicted Score

Man Utd 3-0 WBA: The Baggies will have no answer for United’s firepower.

What would be your preferred line-up and what’s your predicted score for the game? Share your views below.