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10 Facts: West Brom vs United

1. Both sides drew 5-5 at The Hawthorns in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last match as Manchester United manager back in 2013. This is still the highest ever score draw in Premier League history with goals for the likes of Javier Hernandez and Shinji Kagawa, while Romelu Lukaku bagged a hat-trick for the Baggies. United had already won the league prior to the game but eventually finished 11 points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City.

2. The two clubs were actually formed in the same year (1878) by railroad workers, with West Brom becoming one of the founding members of the Football League.

3. Ex-United players Darren Fletcher, Jonny Evans, Ben Foster and James Chester are all part of the current Albion squad. The four players made a combined total of 546 appearances for the Reds (Fletcher 324, Evans 198, Foster 23 and Chester 1). Anders Lindegaard is on loan at Preston.

4. West Brom have only beaten United twice in the Premier League, but did you know both of these victories have actually come at Old Trafford? The Reds have never been beaten at The Hawthorns since the Premier League began (Played 9: Won 7 Drew 2 Lost 0)

5.Bryan Robson,aka Captain Marvel, signed from the Baggies at the beginning of the 1981/1982 season after making over 200 appearances for his first club. Robson’s games-to-goal ratio following his move to Old Trafford was almost exactly same (West Brom – 5.1, Manchester United 4.8). He is rightly still considered a legend at both clubs.

6. Tony Pulishas only beaten the Reds once in 13 attempts as a manager (1 Win, 1 Draw and 11 losses) - that’s a win percentage of 84.62% for United.

7. 31 March 1984 - the last time the Baggies beat the men from M16 at home in a league campaign. Future boss Bryan Robson was in the United starting line-up that game but he couldn’t help his new side claim the points.

8. United have score at least two goals in each of the last 11 trips to The Hawthorns in the league, scoring a total of 34 goals in the process.

9.Denis Law has netted more goals than any other United player against West Brom. The King scored a total of 11 in 13 appearances during his impressive Old Trafford career. Out of the current crop of players, Wayne Rooney has scored the most against the weekend’s opponents with seven in 13 games.

10. In 2005, ex-United player Kieran Richardson helped West Brom complete the great escape by surviving relegation despite starting the final day of the season bottom of the table. Richardson made an instant impact during his loan move, scoring three goals in 12 games (one of those being on the final day) and subsequently becoming an icon for the Midlands club.