Manchester United head to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday afternoon with the hope of keeping some pressure on Manchester City, who face a tough trip to Tottenham Hotspur less than 24 hours beforehand.
The Red Devils know that the only chance they have of making up the 11-point deficit on their rivals is for a catastrophic slip-up and, all going to plan, this weekend may well signal the start of a small power shift.
West Bromwich Albion
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The most worrying aspect of West Brom's 16-match wait for a win is that they have brought in Alan Pardew during this ongoing club-record run and have yet to experience any sort of serious 'new manager bounce'.
In fact, Albion have failed to even score since Pardew replaced Tony Pulis in The Hawthorns dugout, drawing two and losing one of their last three matches.
A battling goalless draw away to Liverpool last time out is a positive result to build on, however, coming fresh on the back of a hugely disappointing 1-0 loss to fellow strugglers Swansea City.
The Baggies last picked up all three points in a match in the opening month of the campaign, when talk of the time was of a top-half finish - not a relegation battle, which the West Midlanders have well and truly been dragged into in recent weeks.
Wednesday's draw at Anfield did at least keep West Brom above the dotted line, with three teams now locked on 14 points in a very tight bottom half. So tight, in fact, that Pardew's men could conceivably end the weekend 13th in the table or rock bottom, though some serious bad luck is required for the latter of those scenarios to come true.
Ending a run of seven matches without a win at The Hawthorns is the big target for the new head coach, who was hardly the most inspired choice but does at least have the advantage of not being Pulis - a man whose reputation dropped considerably around these parts to the point of no return.
Five of those matches have ended all square, with Albion drawing four of their last five overall since a four-match losing run that would ultimately cost Pulis his job.
Rectifying the goalscoring issue is key to turning draws into wins, having failed to score in 17 league matches this calendar year. Another scoreless afternoon on Sunday and it will be Albion's worst such run since 1971, when being kept out 20 times.
Recent form in Premier League: LDDDLD
Manchester United
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The Red Devils make the trip to the West Midlands seeking a third consecutive away win, boasting an impressive tally of seven goals from their last two games away from Old Trafford against Watford and Arsenal.
Jose Mourinho knows that his side's away form has not quite been up to scratch on the whole, though, certainly in comparison to runaway leaders Man City, having collected 14 points from the 24 on offer so far.
It goes without saying that United, still best-placed to stop the juggernaut that is Man City, cannot afford any more slip-ups over the festive and New Year programme if they are to end their long-running wait for top-flight silverware.
The midweek performance against Bournemouth was far from perfect, with the Cherries arguably deserving a point from the match, but claiming victory by any means in front of a tense Old Trafford crowd was all that mattered.
Out-of-form striker Romelu Lukaku proved the difference with his first-half header, which he refused to celebrate, meaning that he now has eight top-flight goals for the club since his big-money move in the summer.
Victory for City away to Swansea City on the same night ensured that the gap remains at 11 points for now, though, and Mourinho will no doubt be watching events at the Etihad Stadium closely on Saturday as the Citizens face what could be their trickiest test yet against Spurs.
All United can do for now is continue racking up wins, and Mourinho is right to point out that his team are indeed eight points better off than this stage last season, though even then they would still have been five points adrift of a rampant Chelsea side.
Unfortunately for United, they are now up against an even stronger outfit in City and their results will continue to be compared to those of their rivals, who have won a record 15 top-flight games on the spin and do not appear likely to be stopped anytime soon.
Recent form in Premier League: WWWWLW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWLW
Team News
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Pardew is hopeful of having Matt Phillips and Nacer Chadli available to call on following their recent hamstring and hip issues respectively.
Experienced midfielder Gareth Barry remains doubtful with a thigh injury, however, so he may have to wait for his 36th Premier League appearance against United.
Sam Field and Jay Rodriguez are pushing for recalls after being left out against Liverpool, as Pardew attempts to add some goals to his side's game.
In terms of the visitors, Eric Bailly will miss the next three months due to an ankle injury that requires surgery, though fellow centre-back Phil Jones came through his return to action unscathed in midweek.
There will be no Paul Pogba for a third league match in a row, meanwhile, as he sits out the last of his three-match ban, so Ander Herrera may come back in alongside Nemanja Matic.
Marouane Fellaini is pushing for a squad return, having missed the last few weeks with a knee injury, but Mourinho's damning verdict on Henrikh Mkhitaryan suggests that he will not be involved.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Foster; Nyom, Hegazi, Evans, Gibbs; Livermore, Barry, Field; Robson-Kanu, Rondon, Rodriguez
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Young; Matic, Herrera; Mata, Lingard, Rashford; Lukaku
Head To Head
West Brom have lost eight of their last 11 home league games against United, earning their only win during that time in March last year.
The Baggies have been victorious in three of the last eight encounters home and away since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, however, with two draws and three defeats in the other games.
Lukaku scored a hat-trick for West Brom in a 5-5 draw in Ferguson's last match in charge, but the Belgian is now looking to down his former club and boasts 30 goals in his last 38 games against teams outside of the established top six.
We say: West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Manchester United
Albion's recent record against United is fairly impressive, but United have looked strong on the road recently and are big favourites to come out on top here. The Red Devils simply need to win to keep their slim title hopes alive, and they should come through this one relatively unscathed.
Daniel Lewis
