Manchester United, 9:15 PM, December 17th: An ugly victory.

Manchester United have been playing increasingly defensively lately. The absence of Paul Pogba has made the Red Devils' style of play more rigid. In that situation, even if they manage to beat West Brom tonight, it will certainly be another ugly victory for Jose Mourinho's team.

As the season progressed, Manchester United's weaknesses gradually became apparent. Over the past month or so, the Red Devils' inconsistency has been clearly evident. In the Champions League, they lost 0-1 to Basel. In their final group stage match at home, MU also struggled to come from behind and beat CSKA Moscow 2-1.

Their form in the Premier League wasn't much brighter either. They were lucky to beat Brighton 1-0 thanks to Ashley Young's shot deflecting off an opposing defender. They also won 3-1 away at Arsenal. But that was certainly a victory achieved in panic and confusion by the Red Devils.

MU allowed Arsenal to unleash 33 shots, and if it weren't for De Gea's brilliant performance, the Red Devils would certainly have suffered a reverse defeat despite leading by two goals after just over 10 minutes of play. Following that, Jose Mourinho's team went on to lose 1-2 to Man City and most recently secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Bournemouth midweek.

Manchester United is currently plagued with numerous problems. Their attack has clearly declined, with Romelu Lukaku failing to maintain the high level of performance he showed at the start of the season over the past two months. While defense is often considered a strong point for Mourinho's teams, this isn't the case with MU, at least not at this time. The Red Devils can hardly be called a strong defensive team when they rely on De Gea's brilliance to keep clean sheets in every game. With their attack blunt and their defense lacking security, Mourinho clearly has many reasons to worry about his team.

Manchester United's difficulties are further compounded by the absence of Paul Pogba. Without the French midfielder, the Red Devils' creativity, already lacking, has become even more so. Pogba will continue to be unavailable tonight due to suspension.

However, MU were fortunate because, despite their poor form, the fixture list presented them with a very weak opponent in West Brom. Although not bottom of the table, West Brom have been the worst-performing team in the Premier League since September.

Evidence of this is that West Brom haven't won a single game in their last 15 matches, suffering 7 defeats. Manager Tony Pulis was sacked. Alan Pardew was brought in as his replacement, but he hasn't brought many positive signs for West Brom either.

Midweek, West Brom put up a strong fight, holding Liverpool to a 0-0 draw away from home. However, given their inconsistency since the start of the season, it wouldn't be surprising if West Brom faltered again tonight.

History also favors MU, as in their last 10 visits to The Hawthorns, the Red Devils have won 7 times and only lost once. MU's winning streak against West Brom could very well secure them three points, although it will likely be another hard-fought victory.

INFORMATION

- West Brom have lost 11 of their last 20 matches according to Asian handicap.

- 5 out of West Brom's last 6 matches have had an even number of total goals.

- 13 out of the last 20 matches for MU have had an odd number of total goals.

- MU has won 12 out of their last 20 matches according to Asian handicap.

SPECIAL

Maximum 2 goals: 13 out of West Brom's last 20 matches have had a maximum of 2 goals scored. All 5 of the most recent encounters between the two teams have followed a similar pattern. This match is also unlikely to have more than 2 goals.

FORECAST: 0-2

According to Bongdaplus