West Brom v Manchester United preview - Alan Pardew hoping his homework pays off
They may be one of the most famous clubs in the world, but that doesn’t mean Alan Pardew can ignore his homework.
In his eyes, there is no better manager out there than Jose Mourinho at tailoring his teams for the opposition.
So Pardew has tried to match the Manchester United manager’s passion for preparation in the build-up to this game.
Even though he’s only had a few days since the battling point at Liverpool, he’s called in favours to get the low-down on tomorrow’s opponents.
“We have some shared personnel so these things get back to us,” he said. “I make no bones about the fact that I’m big admirer of Jose and his work.
“So I have gone down similar lines, making sure we cover the same sort of stuff, you’re nicking things all the time off each other.
“But his thoroughness on the opposition is certainly the best.”
Because of that, Pardew was refusing to give any of his tactics away.
By hook or by crook Albion need a win, but victory in this game would be remarkable. Even though an encouraging performance at Anfield has given the Baggies something to build on, Manchester United are still the second-best team in the country.
Just like the Liverpool game, any result will be a bonus, but Pardew wouldn’t reveal whether he’d adopt the same approach.
“I’m going to give you no clues about what I’m going to do,” he said. “One thing I know about Jose is his mastery of the opposition.
“I want to give him as few clues as I can, he’s the best manager in the world at subduing a team.”
Would he be happy with a point, though, against Mourinho’s men?
It’s 16 games now in all competitions without a win, but then again, it is United.
“Depends on the context of the game,” he admitted. “Beforehand, would I take a point? I probably would.
“But they could get a player sent off in the first 10 minutes and then we’ll be looking to win.
“We could play our best performance and they’re not at the races, or we’re leading late on and then they equalise, it’s all about the context.
“We should have won the last home game (against Crystal Palace). I spoke to a few fans and they were pleased with the way we approached it.
“They understand the opposition is different this time, they’ll probably give us a bit more licence.”
Although he’s being coy, Pardew is likely to keep a similar team to the one that drew with Liverpool because the majority of his injured players are still unavailable.
Matt Phillips, Nacer Chadli and Craig Dawson are unlikely to be risked, even though all three are closing in on returns.
Gareth Barry is back in contention, but may struggle to regain his place after the way Albion’s midfield trio clicked at Anfield.
But they won’t have to deal with Paul Pogba in midfield, who completes his three-match ban on Sunday.
“It’s an encouragement for us that he’s not playing,” said Baggies boss Alan Pardew.
“Because he has a power and presence in that central midfield different to the other players at Jose Mourinho’s disposal. It’s a lift for us that he’s not available.”
Eric Bailly and Michael Carrick remain injured and there are doubts over Marouane Fellaini and Marcus Rojo.
Ashley Young, Marcus Rashford, and Ander Herrera are all expected to start after missing Bournemouth.
Opposition dangerman - Marcus Rashford
With Romelu Lukaku struggling for goals recently (although he did net Wednesday’s winner against Bournemouth), United have had to look for other sources. Rashford has gone a little under the radar this season, but he’s netted on his last two starts and 10 in total for club and country this season.
Albion key man - Allan Nyom
The full-back was the only Baggies player who looked shaky at Anfield, but he will need to be on tip-top form to stop the likes of Rashford and Anthony Martial, who are sure to use their pace to try and hurt the Baggies.
Likely line-ups
Albion (4-5-1): Foster, Nyom, Hegazi, Evans, Gibbs, Robson-Kanu, Livermore, Yacob, Krychowiak, McClean, Rondon.
Substitutes: Myhill, McAuley, Barry, Field, Burke, Brunt, Rodriguez.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Young, Matic, Herrera, Rashford, Mata, Martial, Lukaku.
Substitutes: Romero, Lindelof, Blind, Shaw, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic
