By Jemma Tappenden
March 11 2012

West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson looks set to hand Christ Brunt his first Premier League start in over two months this afternoon, after recovering from the broken foot which has kept him sidelined.  Brunt made a substitute appearance in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Chelsea at the Hawthorns.

Steven Reid will miss the rest of the season for Albion, but Billy Jones looks to have overcome a leg injury and is likely to deputise for the injured Reid.  Jerome Thomas however is still struggling with a hamstring injury.

Tom Cleverley looks set to feature for Manchester United at Old Trafford this afternoon after recovering from an ankle injury, but Chris Smalling will miss out after reopening a head wound in their midweek Europa League defeat to Athletic Bilbao.

West Bromwich Albion have secured all nine points from their last three league games, scoring a credible 10 goals in the process, and have lost just once in their last six Premiership games.  The Baggies start the day in 12^th place in the Premiership table, and will be looking to beat last season’s 11^th place finish, their highest for 28 years.  Ironically, it has also been 28 years since Albion were last victorious against Manchester United in the league, a 2-0 victory at the Hawthorns in 1984.  In fact, of the 11 premiership meetings between the two clubs, United have won nine, with Albion having taken just two points from two draws.

But that is unlikely to shake the Midlands club, whose confidence has reached a new high in recent weeks.  The three back to back victories in recent weeks are their first three consecutive top flight victories since August/September 2002, and perhaps the biggest testament to their recent success is Chris Brunt’s insistence this week that the West Brom board need to secure the long term services of manager Roy Hodgson, whose contract expires this summer.  Hodgson could be a candidate for the vacant England manager’s job should Harry Redknapp not make the expected move from Spurs over the summer.

Manchester United v West Brom - Preview

Discussion started by WBA Baggies World (IP Logged), 11/03/2012 12:38

WBA Baggies World
11/03/2012 12:38

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