The first hurdle standing between Manchester United and a record 20th English Premier League title is West Bromwich. The baggies must be cursing their luck to have to face the defending champions in their first home fixture of the new season and then having to travel to Stamford Bridge the next week. But then again it is never a good time to play against The Red Devils. Both the teams lock horns at the Hawthorns on the 14th of August and the fans and players will be excited for their first match of the season.
The flashback :West Bromwich was the only team to have taken points off from Manchester United at home, last season. When they were held to a 2-2 draw. United were leading by 2 goals at the half time but then went totally off the course in the second half . Patrice evra deflecting the ball into his own net and then Van Der Sar letting the ball past him left United bruised and battered.
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The Reverse Fixture at Hawthorns was more of a routine. Rooney grabbed a goal early in the match with just 3 minutes on the clock which was soon cancelled out by an equalizer from James Morrison. The game was dead-locked until the 75th minute when Chicharito came off the bench and netted in the winner which secured United all the three points.
Form Guide :
The morale levels of the Red devils would be flying high after an astonishing victory over rivals City in the Community Shield. It was a typical United match , they were down by 2 goals after the first half , came back onto the pitch finished the job and went home clutching their first silverware of the Season. On the other hand it is difficult to gauge the form of west Brom because not much can be concluded from the pre-season friendlies.
Injuries / New Arrivals :
The new Arrival – Shane Long
WestBrom will be without their last season’s top scorer Peter Odemwingie and Youssouf Mulumbu would also not be able to make it due to an abdominal strain. The fans will be Delighted to see their new arrival from Reading Shane Long in action against the Red Devils. The former United goal keeper Ben foster has joined the baggies on loan from Birmingham who should prove an important figure in their Squad given his experience and talent in front of the goal.
United will be without the services of Danny Welbeck, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra along with Herandez who suffered a concussion. Antonio Valencia and Darren Fletcher are also ruled out of the clash. Sir Alex Ferguson would be longing to introduce the new arrivals as soon as possible and so Ashley young and Phil Jones might be on the cards as well. It will be David De Gea‘s first Premier league match and all eyes will be and should be on him as he tries to fill in the shoes of Edwin Van Der Sar.
David De Gea
West Bromwich finished 11th in the league last season which was their highest premier league finish till date and the newly appointed manager Roy Hodgson is expected to lift them a few more places above into the Top half.
Mike Jones who saw through the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last season will be the referee for the match.
Prediction :
On paper the United squad can beat WestBrom any day but what matters is how the 11 players play in tandem for the 90 minutes on the pitch. Both the teams would want to start off their campaigns with a victory but there can be only one winner and I cant think of any reason why United would lose the game. United has to improve their away form to win the league once again this sesasonIt should be a stroll in the park for them and finally I will be going with a 2-0 win .
