Manchester United vs. West Brom preview: 5 key factors

6 of 6

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 28: Marcus Rashford of Manchester United during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on February 28 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images) /

1. The Marcus Rashford phenomenon

18-year-old Marcus Rashford stormed onto the scene at United with four goals in his first two matches. His two goal, one assist performance against Arsenal announced his Premier League arrival in a big way. He was kept off the score sheet against Watford, but will be on the hunt to add to his legend on Sunday at the Hawthorns.

He’s only played three matches for United on the season, but he’s taken the fan base by storm. He’s a confident lad with a real eye for goal who’s taken his chances extremely well in those matches. West Brom’s defense will have to focus in on him to keep him from putting the ball into the back of the net on Sunday.

The West Brom defense will likely try to lean on Rashford and intimidate him physically. He’s certainly not the most physical striker in the Premier League and again, the Baggies want to make this match ugly. It’ll be crucial for Rashford to ignore that physical contact and stay focused on the task at hand. If he gets distracted by rough play, he could be a waste up top for van Gaal.

When you enter the Premier League as hot as Rashford has, you just try to keep the run going for as long as you can. One day he’ll hit a goal scoring lull and he’ll have to grind to fix it, but United fans hope he hasn’t hit that lull as of yet. Scoring a goal against West Brom would allow Rashford to keep the party going a bit longer.

Home/Manchester United