Will Manchester United play something resembling entertaining football against West Brom on Saturday? That remains the big question going into this English Premier League game at Old Trafford.
While the results have been much better compared to the last couple of seasons, the manner of those results haven't endeared Louis Van Gaal to the Manchester United faithful. Getting results is well and good, but Manchester United also have a tradition of playing good football, and, more often than not, this season, especially, Van Gaal's men have played some mind-numbingly boring football.
"I think the supporters have to support the players, otherwise they make it very difficult for the players to play at Old Trafford," Van Gaal said after the majority of the supporters vocally criticised the football in Manchester United's 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday. "Until now they were fantastic, so I cannot complain about the fans.
"I can only advice the fans to criticise the manager and not the players. It's very difficult to play for Manchester United with a lot of pressure and when you can taste that in Old Trafford because of all the yelling then it's not good for all my players.
"It's better to whistle at the manager. I can cope with it because I have had a lot of experience in it in my life as a manager."
Van Gaal, though, did admit his team need to score more goals, after netting just one in their last four matches. "We have to score more goals, I agree with that, but only one more than the opponent," the Dutchman added. "That's what I am thinking.
"And, of course, we still need players with more creativity and pace on the wings. That I have said five months ago, three months ago and now I am saying it again, but we need that, so we are still in a process."
Scoring those goals against West Brom might not prove to be easy, considering Tony Pulis' men are one of the better defensive teams in the Premier League.
However, as Van Gaal said, if his team score a goal more, he will certainly not complain, even if it is a 1-0, with the winner coming in the 84th minute, after 83 minutes of possession (read boring) football.
Having said that, though, Manchester United have lost to West Brom at Old Trafford in each of the last two seasons, and the Baggies will back themselves to manage a hat-trick of victories.
"Going to Old Trafford is never an easy place to go," West Brom defender Gareth McAuley told the club's official website. "They are a team full of stars who can do anything at any point in time during 90 minutes.
"We have to be respectful of that and also be aware of the dangerous players at their disposal. Saying that we are really looking forward to the task which awaits us on Saturday afternoon.
"We can take great confidence from the consecutive victories we have had there over the last two seasons. They are a fantastic side and we will need to be on top of our game to get anything.
"It would be great to make it three wins from three, but we know we will need to put in a great team performance and have a bit of luck for that to happen."
Where to Watch Live
Manchester United vs West Brom is scheduled for a 3 pm local time (8.30 pm IST, 10 am ET) start. Star Sports 4 will show the match live in India, while the online live streaming options are on Starsports.com and Hotstar.
There will be no live TV coverage for viewers in the UK, but live radio coverage will be on BBC Radio 5 Live. Australia viewers can watch the EPL game live on Fox Sports, while the online live streaming options are on Fox Sports On Demand and Foxtel Play.
Watch the EPL game live in the US on NBC Sports Network, with the live stream option on NBC Sports Live Extra. Audience in Canada can watch Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion live on Sportsnet and Sportsnet World Online.
In Singapore, the Manchester United vs West Brom match will be shown live on 102 Mio, while the action can be watched live in Malaysia on Fox Sports. Viewers in Thailand can flip their remotes to CTH, while audience in Indonesia can watch the EPL game live on Orange TV. PPTV and QQ Sports will show the EPL action live in China.
Audience in the Middle East and North Africa will be able to watch the EPL match live on Bein Sports Arabia, with the live streaming option on Bein Sports Connect.
