English Premier
2012-03-11 - Manchester United vs West Brom
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 11 March 2012 - Kick Off 2pm
Manchester United
As impressed as I was with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night, the performance of Manchester United was not up to scratch and I think Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking for a big reaction from his players to yet another set back suffered this season.
The biggest priority for United this season is to retain their Premier League title and they will look to keep the pressure up on local rivals Manchester City with a 2 point deficit to make up on them as well as a large goal difference deficit.
The team are 10-1-2 at Old Trafford in the League this season, scoring 37 goals and conceding 15, but they will want to ensure they drop no more points here if they are to win the League.
It is not often that you can say this, but Manchester United have lost back to back games at Old Trafford although both of those defeats have come in the Europa League. United have actually won 6 of their last 7 Premier League games, including their last 3 in a row at home, since back to back League defeats to Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
There will be a few changes from the team that lost to Bilbao during the week as the likes of Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Nani and Danny Welbeck all push for a starting berth. Chris Smalling is a doubt, while Antonio Valencia is sidelined until next week at the best.
West Brom
West Brom have ended the managerial reign of a couple of managers they have faced in their last few games, the latest being Andre Villa-Boas at Chelsea, but that is unlikely to happen at Old Trafford on Sunday. They have been in great form recently, so the chances of a shock occurring is much larger than it may have been a few weeks ago.
The Baggies are 12th in the Premier League following the Saturday games, but they have a chance of moving as high as 8th if they pick up the 3 points from this game, while that would also mean they are only 1 point behind Roy Hodgson's former club Liverpool. They have a 6-3-4 away record this season, scoring 20 goals and conceding 19.
The team have won 3 games in a row in the Premier League following a 1-2 loss to Swansea at home, including an impressive 1-0 win over Chelsea last week as well as the 1-5 win at local rivals Wolves. West Brom have lost just 1 of their last 7 away games in the Premier League, that coming at Tottenham Hotspur. They have only failed to score in 3 of their 13 away games in the League this season.
Chris Brunt is in line to return to the team this week, as is Billy Jones. Jerome Thomas is a doubt, while Steven Reid is a long-term absentee.
Head to Head
Manchester United won 1-2 at West Brom on the opening day of the season thanks to a late own goal by Steven Reid.
Last season, West Brom were the only team to earn a result from a trip to Old Trafford in the League as the Baggies bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2.
Manchester United had won their previous 3 home games against West Brom in all competitions before that draw last season.
Prediction
Sir Alex Ferguson suggested he was going to take a 'gamble' on his team selection for this game with the second leg against Athletic Bilbao in mind, but I would be surprised if he did considering how important it is to keep in touch with Manchester City and try to overcome them before the big Derby on April 30th.
West Brom will be no pushovers as they have been in great form and they have been very effective away from home. I do think they will look to keep things tight for half an hour or so in this game, but I also think they will want to test a Manchester United defence that looked very vulnerable against Bilbao on Saturday.
Goals have usually been a given when these teams play one another and I don't think Sunday will be any different. Both teams are likely to attack with the away side having nothing to lose and United needing the three points.
Therefore, I am going back to the well for a pick I made on Thursday and back Manchester United to win with 3 or 4 goals scored in the match at 2.80 offered by Paddy Power.
This would have been a winner in the 3 United wins here over West Brom before last season and looks like it could give us a run for our money this time.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 2-1 West Brom
