Having recorded a huge morale-boosting victory over the runaway league leaders, Manchester United will look to keep up their good form and consolidate second place in the table. That win over Manchester City allowed Jose Mourinho’s men to open up a four-point lead over the chasing pack.
"During the week I was trying to fight that result (against City) by working hard and trying to make the players understand that it's not enough to deserve to finish second, we need the points to finish second," the Portuguese boss told reporters this week. "Obviously to finish top four we need four or five points, but to finish second we need much more than that and after three important points last weekend we have to try to be closer to the second position, which is, in this moment, our ambition."
United have won 14 of their last 17 home games in the Premier League and have only lost once in their last nine games. Using either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system, they have been strong on the counter-attack and defensively solid, with Paul Pogba recently rounding into the form that saw the club break the world transfer record to sign him from Juventus.
Meanwhile, West Brom will arrive at Old Trafford desperate for points, now ten points from safety with just five matches remaining. "We'll keep fighting, we'll keep planning and preparing as best as we possibly can and remain focused,” manager Darren Moore told a press conference earlier this week. "The supporters and everybody connected with the football club would expect that from us and that is exactly what they are going to get.”
They have not won any of their last ten games and – despite a 1-1 draw with Swansea last time out ending a run of nine consecutive defeats – they face an incredible difficult task here. In many ways, they seem consigned to their fate of spending next season in the Championship, sacking both manager Alan Pardew and technical consultant Nick Hammond.
That should see a change of impetus over the coming months, as chief executive Mark Jenkins explained. “From my discussions with the owners already, I know there is a genuine desire to build a team with greater goal power and attacking threat which can capture the fans' imagination,” he said. “In the event of our losing Premier League status, it will be a squad we will want to compete strongly for promotion back to the top tier."
United will be without long-term absentee Daley Blind, whilst backup goalkeeper Sergio Romero is also a doubt. Phil Jones has returned to first-team training, however, but is unlikely to be risked given his recent lack of game time.
For the visitors, Gareth Barry and James Morrison are both sidelined through injury for the trip to Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Hal Robson-Kanu, Nacer Chadli, Jonny Evans and Daniel Sturridge are all doubts.
Manchester United (4-3-3): De Gea; A. Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Young; Matic, Herrera, Pogba; Lingard, Lukaku, Sanchez
West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): Foster; Nyom, Dawson, Hegazy, Gibbs; Phillips, Livermore, Brunt, McClean; Rondon, Rodriguez
