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West Brom logo
Premier League | Gameweek 24
Feb 14, 2021 at 2pm UK
The Hawthorns
Manchester United logo

West Brom
1 - 1
Man Utd

Diagne (2')
Gallagher (37'), Bartley (61'), Maitland-Niles (79'), Snodgrass (85'), Diagne (89')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Fernandes (44')

How Manchester United could line up against West Bromwich Albion

Sports Mole looks at how Manchester United could line up for Sunday's Premier League trip to face struggling West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Manchester United will be looking to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City when they take on relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Sunday.

The Red Devils head into the weekend five points adrift of their local rivals following a last-gasp 3-3 draw with Everton last weekend, when the Toffees recovered from two goals down at the break and rescued a point late on.

Man United did return to winning ways by progressing into the FA Cup quarter-finals in midweek, though, and will be favourites to come away with all three points against a West Brom side with the worst defensive record and home record in the division.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could set his side out for the contest.



Possible MNU XI vs. WBA

Out: Paul Pogba (thigh), Phil Jones (knee)
Doubtful: Eric Bailly (unknown)

> Click here for Manchester United's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match

Manchester United should have Eric Bailly back available for this match after he returned to training this week, and he is in contention for an immediate return to the starting lineup.

Solskjaer may err on the side of easing him back in after almost a month out, though, and next week's Europa League clash against Real Sociedad may be a more likely chance to displace Victor Lindelof in the starting XI given his past experience in Spanish football too.

Paul Pogba remains sidelined for the visitors, as does Phil Jones, but there are still likely to be a string of changes to the side that battled past West Ham United in the FA Cup in midweek.

Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Edinson Cavani and Scott McTominay - the latter of whom netted the winner in midweek to take him up to seven goals for the season - are among the players knocking on the door after being limited to substitute roles in midweek.

McTominay's seven-goal haul in 30 appearances this season equals the number of goals he managed in his first 84 outings over the course of his first four campaigns for the club, and he comes into this match having netted in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time.

That goal return still pales in comparison to Fernandes, who incredibly averages either a goal or an assist every 84 minutes in the Premier League - the best ratio of the 1,685 players with at least five goal involvements in the competition's history.

The Portuguese playmaker needs just one assist to become only the fourth Manchester United player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in a single Premier League season, having scored 13 goals and created nine more in the top flight this term.

Goals have also flown freely elsewhere, with Cavani looking to score in three consecutive league games for the first time since January 2019 and Marcus Rashford aiming to improve what is already a career-best tally of six away goals this season, not to mention five assists on the road.

Cavani appears to have usurped Anthony Martial as the first-choice centre-forward and so he is expected to come back into the side, while Shaw, who has as many assists in his last two Premier League games as he managed in his previous 48, should come in for Alex Telles.

There will no doubt be more debate over a recall for David de Gea, who saw his position come under more scrutiny for his role in the 3-3 draw with Everton last weekend.

Dean Henderson kept another clean sheet in midweek to strengthen his own claim for the gloves, but Solskjaer is once again expected to keep faith with De Gea.


Video prediction

Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:


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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pictured in February 2021
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