Baggies head coach is enjoying the full-back battle

Irvine preferred Andre Wisdom for the game with the Red Devils and the on-loan Liverpool youngster is expected to start against Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns tomorrow.

But the Baggies head coach has hinted Gamboa, who impressed on his full Premier League debut at Liverpool in Wisdom's absence, could have kept his place had he not travelled with Costa Rica for games in Oman and South Korea.

Irvine said: "One of the factors was the travelling that Cristian had to do.

"He has been away to the other side of the world and he didn't get back into training until Friday.

"Andre had been with us for the whole of that international period. We identified that Manchester United deliver a lot of early crosses and last Wednesday we had a back four present because Sebastien Pocognoli was back, so we worked on defending early crosses.

"We were able to do work with Andre that we weren't able to do with Cristian and so that, in the end, made my decision easier. Cristian is a great lad. He hasn't come in to ask why that was done, but that was the reason.

"Some of the things Angel Di Maria can do are fantastic and I feel we were able to cope with those early crosses a lot better than we would have been if we hadn't been able to do the work. So that was a major factor in the final decision. I think Andre realises he's got a very good player breathing down his neck."