Manchester United return to Premier League action after the international break seeking to find our first home win of the campaign at Old Trafford against West Brom. We have only secured one point out of a possible twelve in the previous four games on home soil. We faced a West Brom side that is in the relegation zone and are out of form.
United will come into the game with a bit of confidence after our 3-1 away win against Everton last time out. This victory not only eased the pressure on the team but on the manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær as well.
Ole, the players, and the fans themselves are currently baffled by the inconsistent form this season so far. The win at Everton had been previously followed by disappointing defeats to İstanbul Başakşehir and Arsenal. Which in turn followed great wins over PSG and RB Leipzig and then the draw against Chelsea.
The inconsistent nature of our home form needs to be turned around quickly if we are to rise up the table back into the top four positions. We have no wins in our last six home games which stretches back to the end of last season and have only garnered three points out of a possible eighteen.
We have conceded the most goals at home than any other team in the league so far this season. Ole will want to make sure we put up a good defensive performance on Saturday and not concede.
If our record away from home had not been so good this season, then we could have been in a much worse position in the league. United will need to advantage of a struggling side to secure all three points and build a run of form going into a number of fixtures between now and Christmas.
Opposition Preview
West Brom has yet to secure a win in the Premier League so far this season having drawn three and lost five games. Their previous games before the international break saw them suffer back to back defeat against Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, which has left in the bottom three.
The Baggies have only scored once in their last five games. They have only failed to win in any of their first nine league games once before, which was back in the 1985/86 season. They have been United’s bogey side in the recent seasons that they were in the Premier League and will be looking to take advantage of our erratic home from and cause an upset.
Manchester United vs West Brom Match Details
Teams: Manchester United vs West Brom
Date: November 21st, 2020 (Saturday)
KO Time: 20:00 BST
Competition: Premier League
Stadium: Old Trafford
Referee: David Coote
Managers: Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Slaven Bilić
Manchester United Team News
United will definitely be without left-back Luke Shaw who sustained a hamstring injury during the last game against Everton. On a positive note, Alex Telles is expected to start after testing negative for covid-19.
Marcus Rashford’s participation is in doubt having pulled out of the England squad due to an injury to his shoulder. He did return to training on Thursday. Anthony Martial will be assessed before the game having picked up a back injury whilst playing for France.
The availability of Mason Greenwood still remains a question. This could give Edinson Cavani the chance to make a start. In the defence, captain Harry Maguire complained about a bruised foot following England’s victory over Iceland, whilst Victor Lindelof played through the pain barrier with his recurring back problem for Sweden.
Pre-Match Press Conference
The pre-match press conference saw Ole asked about the difference between our home and away record this season. He said, ” It’s not as easy as why don’t we win at home why don’t we do so well, every game lives its own life, there are reasons behind that and, as I said, the best game we played at home this season was against RB Leipzig, Home and away is not the same, in Norway there are a few hundred fans and they help. Here it’s sterile. The Everton game last time out showed a Man United team as we want to see it. We scored some good team goals and I was very pleased with that last performance.“
Solskjær was asked about Mason Greenwood giving the criticism he has had lately from the media. He said “Everyone’s allowed to not be well, if you’re not well you can’t train. He’s been away eight or nine days from training, we’re just building him up again and I have no doubts about him. He has a very good head on him and the talent is there for all to see.“
Ole had this to say about our opposition tomorrow, “They’ve had some players out with covid. We played them before the restart with two 11s and both 11s were good teams. Slaven is a good coach, I’ve known him for many years, chirping in my ear when I was playing against him. I expect a good team who will come and cause his problems, but I focus on us and I want to see more of what we’e been good at. I want to see us dominate.“
West Brom Team News
West Brom will welcome back a number of players after recently tested positive for coronavirus. Branislav Ivanovic, Matheus Pereira and Callum Robinson along with Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Field who could return to the side.
Manager Slaven Bilic said in a pre-match conference he knows the size of the task ahead of the visit to Old Trafford. He said, “They are Man United. They are a great squad with some great individuals, they are looking to make their first win at home.“
Form Guide
Manchester United Premier League form: WLWDLW
Manchester United form (all competitions): WDWLLW
West Brom Premier League form: DLDDLL
Interesting Facts
- Manchester United have not lost consecutive league games to West Brom since December 1980. (source: talksport.com).
- No side has gained more points from losing positions than Manchester United in the Premier League this season (9), with the Red Devils coming back to win three of their five games in which they’ve trailed. (source: talksport.com).
- Bruno Fernandes is one of just two players to have both had 20+ shots (20) and created 20+ chances (20) in the Premier League this season. (source: talksport.com).
- Manchester United are winless in their last two home games against West Brom
Predicted Lineup
De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles, McTominay, Fred, Fernandes, Greenwood, Rashford, and Martial.
Prediction
United will look to garner their first league win of the season at Old Trafford. The game against West Brom is the perfect opportunity against a struggling side to end our recent bad run of form at home. A win would build even more confidence as we head into a long run of fixtures domestically and in Europe. We definitely have more than enough in our squad to secure all three points despite a few injuries concern.
Predicted Score
Manchester United 2-0 West Brom
