Man Utd vs West Brom: 5 Reasons Why Red Devils HAVE To Win

3. Slaughter At The Etihad

Looking back at the last set of results in the Premier League the biggest one to stand out for me is the 4 - 1 destruction of Man Utd at City's Etihad stadium. The manner of the defeat is perhaps more worrying then the score line itself with only Wayne Rooney leaving the pitch with any credibility. The game wasn't decided with the last kick of the game as was so often the case under Ferguson, City were winning 4-0 by the 50th minute and could afford the luxury of easing their foot off the pedal for the remainder of the game. The defeat by City will have hurt and only a win in the next league game will be enough to sate the hunger on their fans lips this weekend, especially over a West Brom side that look decidedly average compared to recent years. Fellaini on his starting debut for the club sat next to Carrick in midfield and the pair offered very little in the way of defensive protection or creative distribution to the front men. Young and Valencia were shockingly awful and I felt sorry for Welbeck as he simply didn't have any sort of service to feed off. The fact Young was substituted and replaced by Tom Cleverley (whose role is that of central midfield usually) speaks volumes. It is the United way to react to criticism and defeat with a good set of results in the games following and United got a decent result against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup, but with this competition not a serious bleep on the trophy radar it will have done little to appease the United faithful.