MANCHESTER UNITED v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League Saturday 29th December 2012,
3pm Old Trafford
MATCH
NOTES
The last time Albion played a
game on December 29 was in 2007 when two goals from Kevin Phillips helped the
Baggies to a comfortable 5-0 win over Scunthorpe United at The Hawthorns.
Albion's 33 points is their highest-ever tally at
the halfway stage of a Premier League season.
Albion have won three of their
last five away league games. Only United have better away form over the last
five matches.
Albion's last six league games:
Queens Park Rangers (A) 2-1; Norwich City (H) 2-1; West Ham United (H) 0-0;
Arsenal (A) 0-2; Stoke City (H) 0-1; Swansea City (A) 1-3
United's last six league games: Newcastle United (H)
4-3; Swansea City (A) 1-1; Sunderland (H) 3-1; Manchester City (A) 3-2; Reading
(A) 4-3; West Ham United (H) 1-0
TEAM
NEWS
Albion
Defenders Jonas Olsson (groin) and Goran Popov (hamstring),
and midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu (hamstring) are all major doubts while Claudio
Yacob (hamstring) and Steven Reid (shin) are definitely out.
George Thorne has been recalled from a loan spell at
Peterborough United and goes straight into the squad.
Squad from:
Foster, Myhill, Daniels, Jones, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Tamas,
Dawson, Ridgewell, Popov, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Thorne, Brunt, Morrison, Gera,
Odemwingie, Fortune, Long, Lukaku, Rosenberg.
Manchester United
Wayne Rooney is definitely out with a knee injury, while
doubts remain over the availability of Rafael, Nemanja Vidic, Nani and Anderson.
United forward Danny Welbeck should return after illness, and
Ashley Young and Phil Jones are expected to overcome minor injuries.
Shinji Kagawa could be named among the substitutes after two
months out with a knee injury.
Squad from:
Lindegaard, De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Wootton, Ferdinand
Evans, Buttner, Evra, Cleverley, Giggs, Fletcher, Scholes, Tunnicliffe, Carrick,
Kagawa, Young, Hernandez, Welbeck, Van Persie.
QUOTES
Baggies' assistant Head Coach
Keith Downing:
"I think you are looking at their strengths and weaknesses
and Sir Alex has mentioned there is a cause for concern with the goals they have
conceded.
"But they have top quality players. Vidic is coming back and
in Smalling and Jones, they have a lot of individual quality there.
"I'm sure that is something they will be working on but there
is an opportunity to go there, particularly after the two wins, with a freedom
to our game and hopefully we can give them a few problems."
www.sportinglife.com
United defender Jonny Evans:
"We can’t take anything for granted. I remember a couple of
years ago West Brom drew
with us 2-2 at home and it was a tough game. We played them towards the end of
last season and found that they were a really hard team to break down.
"What they do is they get the
two defensive units really tight. It forces you to go wide and try to get
crosses into the box. They are very hard to break down.”
www.manutd.com
MATCH
ODDS
Result
Albion Win: 17/2, United Win: 2/7, Draw: 9/2.
First Goalscorer van Persie
5/2, Hernandez 7/2, Welbeck 5/1, Kagawa 6/1, Young 8/1, Long 9/1, Lukaku 9/1,
Anderson 10/1, Giggs 10/1, Powell 10/1, Scholes 10/1, Valencia 10/1, Fortune
12/1, Odemwingie 12/1, Rosenberg 12/1, Cleverley 14/1, Gera 14/1, Brunt 16/1,
Morrison 16/1, Fletcher 20/1, Dorrans 20/1, El Ghanassy 20/1, Jones 22/1.
REFEREE
Jon Moss (West Yorkshire) - Has refereed one
Albion game so far this season, the 2-0 victory at home to Everton in September.
Moss took charge of three Albion games last season - The 2-1 Carling Cup defeat
at Everton in September, the 2-1 defeat at home to Swansea in February and the
1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers at The Hawthorns in April.
TICKET INFORMATION
Albion's allocation of 1,800 tickets is completely
sold out.
WEATHER FORECAST
Cloudy with a 30% chance of rain, 7°C
FIXTURE HISTORY
Albion's first league meetings with Newton Heath - who
would in time become Manchester United - took place in the First Division
during the 1892/93 season. The first game between the sides, at Stoney
Lane, ended in a goalless draw. Just one week later, in the return game at United's North
Road ground, Albion ran out 4-2 winners thanks to two goals from Archie Bostock and one each from Roddy McLeod and Billy Bassett.
The Baggies' biggest win against United came in April
1968 when they recorded a 6-3 victory at The Hawthorns with the late great
Jeff Astle netting three of the Albion goals. Other big wins for Albion
include 5-1 at The Hawthorns in 1925/26, and 5-3 at Old Trafford in
December 1978 - a game that is generally recognised as one of Albion's
greatest ever performances.
United's best win over Albion came at Old Trafford in
April 1970 when they ran out easy 7-0 winners against an Alan Ashman led team.
Other notable wins for United include 5-0 in 2008/09, 5-1 in 1985/86, 5-3 in 1966/67
and another 5-1 in 1951/52.
Albion’s last league victory over the 'Red Devils' came at The Hawthorns
on March 31, 1984 when Cyrille Regis and Steve MacKenzie scored the goals
which gave the Baggies’ a 2-0 win over a Ron Atkinson led United. Since
then Albion have picked up just two points out of a possible 48 against
the men from Manchester.
The Baggies' last victory at Old Trafford came in the aforementioned
December 1978 game. Goals from Tony Brown (2), Len Cantello, Laurie
Cunningham and Cyrille Regis helped Albion to a very well documented 5-3
win.
Albion and United have met each other 12 times at Premier League level
with the men from Manchester winning 10 of the games.
LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT OLD TRAFFORD
Manchester United 2-0 Albion Barclays Premier League Sunday
11th March 2012,
2:00pm
Manchester United:
De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Young, Carrick,
Scholes (Pogba 72), Welbeck (Cleverley 77), Rooney, Hernandez. Subs not used:
Amos, Berbatov, Giggs, Park, Rafael Da Silva.
Goalscorers:
Rooney 35 & 71 (pen)
Albion:
Foster, Tamas, McAuley, Olsson, Ridgewell, Odemwingie,
Andrews (Scharner 72), Morrison, Mulumbu, Brunt (Shorey 72), Fortune (Long 77).
Subs not used: Daniels, Tchoyi, Dorrans, Cox.
Booked:
Olsson 49 (foul)
Sent-Off:
Olsson 66 (foul, second bookable offence)
Attendance: 75,598
Referee: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Wayne Rooney's double swept Manchester United to the top of
the Barclays Premier League for the first time this year as West Brom were
defeated 2-0 at Old Trafford. Rooney took his seasonal tally to 26 with a goal
either side of the interval as United took advantage of
Manchester City's loss at
Swansea to assume that familiar position at the head of affairs on the title
run-in. And with United at relegation-haunted Wolves next Sunday, City could
find themselves four points adrift before they take to the field again, against
resurgent Chelsea, at the Etihad Stadium on March 21.
That it could turn out to be such a pivotal day should not
come as a surprise. Since United won at Tottenham a week ago, the battle to be
champions has been condensed into who wins the derby on April 30, with the eight
games in between largely an irrelevance. However, the traps that have to be
negotiated on the path to glory are not insignificant as United, even with all
their experience, so nearly found out and City did.
The Old Trafford outfit were still trying to adjust to a
line-up with only one conventional winger in Ashley Young when Keith Andrews
slid in to reach Liam Ridgewell's low left-wing cross. It seemed the Irishman
was sure to score. Instead, he prodded his effort wide. Then, when Chris Brunt
had touched a 30-yard free-kick into his path, Andrew let fly with a thunderous
shot that would have found the bottom corner had David de Gea, not for the first
time in recent games, not made a fine, full-length save. It was the cue for Sir
Alex Ferguson's side to awake from their slumber and Young to have an impact. If
Nani is going to be out for a few weeks as pre-match rumours suggested, Young is
going to be a key man and needs to find the form he produced in his first few
weeks as a United player. Together with skipper Patrice Evra, Young tormented
the right side of West
Brom's defence. The former Aston Villa man had a shot beaten away by Ben Foster,
then ran on to Danny Welbeck's back-heeled through ball before cutting a cute
cross back into the box which Jonas Olsson managed to scramble away.
When United's opener came, it
was a wonder Young was not involved. The Premier League could have been forgiven
a sharp intake of breath as Foster immediately appealed for offside as Rooney
touched home Javier Hernandez's cross from what did appear to be an illegal
position. After what went on at
Bolton on
Saturday, further controversy was the last thing they needed. Happily, in this
instance, TV replays showed the officials had got it absolutely spot on as
Rooney timed his run to perfection before netting for the fourth time in a week.
Peter Odemwingie had been a subdued presence during the opening period. But when
he went over Evra's half-hearted challenge, he was convinced West Brom should
have had a penalty. He might have been right too, as Evra did not play the ball
and dangled a leg out for the striker to fall on. It was another of those
fortunate moments United make a habit of capitalising on. This time, they could
not do it as Hernandez drove a shot against a post, Rooney's overhead kick went
straight to Foster and, most startlingly of all, Welbeck slid his shot wide of
an open goal after the entire West Brom defence, including their goalkeeper, had
got caught out by Scholes' inspired long pass.
Booked at the start of the second period for a foul on
Rooney, Olsson brought his afternoon to an early conclusion when he was beaten
to Welbeck's pass by Hernandez and chopped the Mexican down instead. Within five
minutes, the hosts had their second, Rooney again the scorer, slotting home a
clinical penalty after Andrews had fouled Young. Among the plethora of
substitutions that followed came Paul Pogba's for Scholes, which tends to shoot
down suggestions that the teenage Frenchman has agreed to join Juventus in the
summer. Young and Hernandez both wasted chances to reduce the goal difference
advantage City have in their favour at present. However, it may not come down to
that. And at Molineux next Sunday, it will hardly please under-fire Wolves boss
Terry Connor to know United could really turn the screw.
Sporting Life
CURRENT CONNECTIONS
Ben Foster spent five years at Old Trafford
but made just an handful of first team appearances. The Leamington-born keeper
had joined United from Stoke City in July 2005.
Albion's reserve goalkeeper Luke
Daniels started his career at Old Trafford before moving to The Hawthorns in
2004 following his release by United.
Mike
Phelan joined Albion on a free transfer from United in 1994 but his two year
spell at The Hawthorns was hugely disappointing. He re-joined United as a
first team coach in 2001 and is currently assistant
manager to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Alan Fettis, who had a short spell on loan
at The Hawthorns in 1995, is United's Academy goalkeeping coach.
PAST
CONNECTIONS
Amongst the players
to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Arthur Albiston, Jack
Banks, Peter
Barnes, Henry Boyd, Garth Crooks, Laurie Cunningham, Arthur Fitton, Johnny Giles, Jonathan Greening, Graeme Hogg, Jim Holton, Tomasz Kuszczak, Paul McShane, Mick Martin, Remi Moses, Michael Nardiello, Jimmy Nicholl,
Billy Richards, Kieran Richardson, Bryan
Robson, Maurice Setters, Arthur Smith, Jimmy Stanton, Luke Steele, Mickey Thomas and Ronnie Wallwork
Larger than life 'Big' Ron Atkinson managed both clubs; Ex-Albion boss Nobby Stiles
was a United player; Stuart Pearson played for United and later became a
coach at The Hawthorns; Ex-United boss Jimmy Murphy was an Albion player
during the 1930's; Former Albion player Brian Whitehouse later coached at Old
Trafford; Mick Brown was assistant manager at both clubs under Ron
Atkinson; Former Baggies' boss Johnny Giles started his playing career at
United; England legend Bryan Robson started his career at The Hawthorns
in the early 1970's before a record £1.5million move took him to Old Trafford in
1981. Robson returned to Albion in 2004 taking over the managerial hotseat from
Gary Megson; Current Blackpool boss Michael Appleton played for both
clubs and coached at various levels at The Hawthorns.
ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS MANCHESTER UNITED
VENUE |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Home |
60 |
28 |
13 |
19 |
109 |
93 |
Away |
60 |
12 |
16 |
32 |
75 |
121 |
Total |
120 |
40 |
29 |
51 |
184 |
214 |
LAST
TEN MATCHES AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED
DATE |
COMPETITION |
H/A |
F-A |
GOALSCORERS |
GATE |
Sun 11 Mar 2012 |
Premier League |
A |
0-2 |
Rooney 2 (1 pen) |
75,598 |
Sun 14 Aug 2011 |
Premier League |
H |
1-2 |
Long - Rooney, Reid (og) |
25,360 |
Sat 01 Jan 2011 |
Premier League |
H |
1-2 |
Morrison - Rooney, Hernandez |
25,499 |
Sat 16 Oct 2010 |
Premier League |
A |
2-2 |
Evra (og), Tchoyi -
Hernandez, Nani |
75,272 |
Tue 27 Jan 2009 |
Premier League |
H |
0-5 |
Berbatov, Tevez, Vidic,
Ronaldo 2 |
26,105 |
Sat 18 Oct 2008 |
Premier League |
A |
0-4 |
Rooney, Ronaldo, Berbatov,
Nani |
75,451 |
Sat 18 Mar 2006 |
Premier League |
H |
1-2 |
Ellington - Saha 2 |
27,623 |
Mon 26 Dec 2005 |
Premier League |
A |
0-3 |
Scholes, Ferdinand, van
Nistelrooy |
67,972 |
Wed 30 Nov 2005 |
League Cup |
A |
1-3 |
Ellington - Ronaldo (pen),
Saha, O'Shea |
48,924 |
Sat 07 May 2005 |
Premier League |
A |
1-1 |
Earnshaw (pen) - Giggs |
67,827 |
|