MATCH PREVIEW West Bromwich Albion will be aiming to claim a double over Manchester United when the teams meet at the Hawthorns on Saturday lunchtime. The Baggies stunned the title holders with a 2-1 triumph at Old Trafford in September, but the trend since then has been one of declining fortunes for the Midlanders. The subsequent 21 Barclays Premier League matches have yielded only two victories and the club have handed the reins to Pepe Mel in a bid to preserve their top-flight status. Just one point separates Mels men from the bottom three with 18th-placed Sunderland having a match in hand. The visitors do not have any relegation issues to concern themselves with, but David Moyes charges are in unfamiliar territory. Since the advent of the Premier League in 1992, United have finished in the top three every season, and yet this time around they sit seventh. It has been a campaign of inconsistency for the Old Trafford outfit, who have at times strung promising runs together - as evidenced by a six-match winning streak in all competitions during December - only to be let down by sporadic dips in form. The last four League matches have produced five points and hopes of achieving qualification for Europe now hinge on United securing a spot in the top five, although sixth is likely to be good enough after Manchester Citys Capital One Cup success. Moyes old club Everton occupy sixth at present but have only a slender three-point advantage, with the two set to meet at Goodison Park on 20 April. United will have Juan Mata back after he was cup-tied for the UEFA Champions League clash against Olympiacos, but will be without Javier Hernandez after the forward suffered a knee injury while with Mexico, and Jonny Evans through injury. Midfielder Darren Fletcher had a happier midweek outing for his country as he marked his Scotland return with a second-half appearance in the victory over Poland. West Brom, meanwhile, will be without suspended striker Nicolas Anelka. West Bromwich Albion (from): Daniels, Foster, Myhill, Dawson, Jones, Lugano, McAuley, Olsson, Popov, Reid, Ridgewell, Amalfitano, Brunt, Dorrans, Gera, Morrison, Mulumbu, Sessegnon, Anichebe, Berahino, Bifouma, Rosenberg, Sinclair, Vydra. Manchester United (from): De Gea, Lindegaard, Buttner, Evra, Ferdinand, Jones, M Keane, Rafael, Smalling, Varela, Vidic, Carrick, Cleverley, Fellaini, Fletcher, Giggs, Januzaj, Kagawa, Mata, Valencia, Young, Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck. Match Appointments Referee: Jonathan Moss. Assistants: S Long, A Halliday. Fourth Official: M Dean. West Brom Manager: Pepe Mel Man Utd Manager: David Moyes [The Chosen One :D ]
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 04:14:20 +0000
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