Red Devils battle Black Cats as Saints face Baggies in top four fight

The battle to secure a top four finish in this season’s Premier League continues as Manchester United host Gus Poyet’s struggling Sunderland, while Southampton seek three points in their clash with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.

Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils, odds-on 5/6 with Coral to claim a top four position, currently occupy the final Champions League place, but are only ahead of Ronald Koeman’s fifth-placed Saints by a single point.

Man Utd v Sunderland
United will welcome the Black Cats to Old Trafford hoping to finally pick up a win over their defiant Wearside rivals, having drawn earlier this season and failed to secure a league victory against them since October 2013.

Van Gaal’s European hopefuls were twice thwarted by Sunderland last season, including a Capital One Cup loss at the Stadium of Light, but hold a dominant overall Premier League record, having won six of the previous eight meetings.

Despite a supreme run of results at home this term, the Red Devils come into this latest clash on the back of a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Garry Monk’s Swansea City, while the visitors are without a league win in three outings.

Poyet’s relegation-threatened outfit have dropped to 16th in the table, just three points clear of danger, after securing victory only once in the last nine fixtures. Triumphs on their travels are rare too, with Sunderland gaining only one win seven games on the road this term.

United were held to a frustrating 1-1 stalemate in the reverse meeting, with Spanish playmaker Juan Mata netting the opener and Jack Rodwell levelling moments before half-time. Menacing Mata has struck six times this current campaign, and is 8/1 to open proceedings again this time out.

Prolific poacher Jermain Defoe has fired in two Premier League goals for the battling Black Cats since his return to England’s top-flight, and the former England international is 11/4 to score anytime, having scored five times before against United for Tottenham and West ham United.