Prediction: West Brom vs Manchester United

West Brom succumbed to their first defeat in four games at Anfield, but only after giving the Reds a good run for their money, and no doubts they will be feeling confident of upsetting Manchester United on Monday night. The Red Devils climbed to top 4 for the first time this season courtesy of successive home wins over West Ham and Everton, and they will feel the time has come for the first away win of the campaign.

Having experienced so many problems last term, when they finished just outside the bottom three, West Bromwich were predicted another difficult season, but the Baggies have instead shown a great deal of promise in the opening exchanges. Alan Irvine’s side may have picked up eight points from first seven matches, but they have already played Southampton, Swansea, Tottenham and Liverpool away, while hosting Everton, which is enough to suggest this is a decent return. England Under-21 striker Saido Berahino has been at the heart of action, notching five league goals so far and proving he could be a future star for the Three Lions. Strong midfield department has made the difference as well, with seasoned Premier League players Gardner, Morrison, Brunt, Dorrans and Sessegnon working really hard in the centre of the park. Team’s counterattacking approach worked like a charm against Tottenham and almost produced excellent results at Anfield, but with Manchester United’s back line a shaky as they get, the Baggies can even be trusted to attack their more illustrious opponents whenever an opportunity arises. While Victor Anichebe and Claudio Yacob are not available for selection, Chris Brunt and Ideye Brown face fitness tests.

In spite of all their problems and some disappointing performances at the back, Manchester United currently sit in top four, which has got to be considered a success. Given the quality of the players in the squad and a number of important players on the sidelines, the Red Devils clearly have plenty of room for improvement, but it remains to be seen if Louis van Gaal will be able to strike a good balance between attack and defence. He has so far failed to do so, with United producing some memorable attacking displays but also leaking cheap goals week in week out, with the 5-3 defeat at Leicester City the perfect example of this lack of balance. The Red Devils have since somewhat managed to stabilise their performances, winning home fixtures against West Ham and Everton, but they desperately need to start notching up triumphs on the road as well. The match against in-form West Bromwich is hardly a perfect opportunity to end the barren away run, but no doubts Manchester United will give their best to extend the winning streak at the Hawthorns. There have finally been some good news for Louis van Gaal seeing as how Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Phil Jones could be available for selection, although the likes of Evans, Fellaini and Smalling remain in the infirmary and Wayne Rooney is banned.

Conclusion

With Saido Berahino on top of his game and few more attack-minded players behind him, West Bromwich clearly have enough attacking potential to hurt Manchester United, although their own defenders will have their work cut out for them against the likes of RVP, Di Maria, Mata and Falcao, meaning we should see goals galore at the Hawthorns.

Verdict: Over 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: bet365