Man United seeks continued dominance of West Brom
With a seven-point lead over second-place Manchester City, Manchester United welcomes West Brom to Old Trafford on Saturday (9:55 a.m. ET on ESPN2). United wins in 67.0 percent of Soccer Power Index simulations, and West Brom pulls the upset 11.7 percent of the time. Here are five notes on the matchup ...
• As expected, Manchester United has dominated the recent series. United is undefeated (9-0-2) in their last 11 meetings in all competitions and last 15 league games. West Brom hasn’t defeated United since a League Cup win nine years ago, and the Baggies' most recent league victory in the series was in 1984. West Brom is also winless in 14 straight games at Old Trafford in all competitions, winning last in 1978.
• After finishing 10th last season for the club’s best-ever Premier League result, West Brom sits sixth at the halfway point of this campaign. The Baggies have 11 more points and are six spots higher in the standings than they were at this juncture a year ago. SPI projects West Brom to finish seventh this season, with a 6.0 percent chance of a top-four result and the accompanying Champions League berth.
• Manchester United leads the league with 48 goals, 11 more than any other team. So perhaps it's not surprising that the Red Devils also lead the league with 11 goals from corner kicks, but that is a noteworthy five more than any other team. West Brom has defended corners relatively well this season, conceding three goals, tied for sixth-fewest in the league.
• United's Javier Hernandez and West Brom's Peter Odemwingie have scored 29 goals apiece over the past three seasons, with 16 each of the go-ahead variety (55 percent). Only Robin van Persie (29) and Wayne Rooney (17) have scored more go-ahead goals in that span. In the past three seasons, the only player with 20 goals and a higher percentage of go-ahead goals is Rafael van der Vaart, who put Tottenham ahead with 14 of his 24 goals (58 percent) before leaving for Hamburg in August.
• All 29 of Hernandez's league goals have come from inside the penalty area, and 13 of them have come from inside the 6-yard box. Van Persie is the only player with more goals inside the 6 since Hernandez entered the league, and the Dutchman is just one up on Chicharito despite 32 more total goals.
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