Club News

Man Utd v Albion - team news

Thorne handed dream start at Old Trafford

GEORGE Thorne is handed a dream start - only his second in the Barclays Premier League - at Old Trafford as Steve Clarke makes seven changes to the team that beat QPR 2-1 on Boxing Day.

The 19-year-old midfielder was recalled from his loan spell at Peterborough on Thursday and comes in for the injured Youssouf Mulumbu (hamstring).

Jonas Olsson (groin) is also missing, with Gabriel Tamas promoted to partner Gareth McAuley at the heart of defence.

Liam Ridgewell, Markus Rosenberg, Graham Dorrans, Peter Odemwingie and Shane Long are also drafted into Clarke’s starting XI.

Goran Popov (hamstring) and Zoltan Gera are left out altogether, while Romelu Lukaku, James Morrison and Marc-Antoine Fortune are dropped to the bench.

Sir Alex Ferguson makes five changes to the United team that beat Newcastle 4-3 three days ago.

Nemanja Vidic, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck come in, with Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernandez, Robin van Persie and Paul Scholes dropping to the bench.

UNITED (4-4-1-1): de Gea; Smalling, Vidic, Evans, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Cleverley, Young; Kagawa; Welbeck. Subs: Lindegaard (gk), Ferdinand, Giggs, Hernandez, van Persie, Scholes, Buttner.

ALBION (4-2-3-1): Foster; Jones, McAuley, Tamas, Ridgewell; Thorne, Brunt; Rosenberg, Dorrans, Odemwingie; Long. Subs: Myhill (gk), Lukaku, Morrison, Jara Reyes, Fortune, Dawson, El Ghanassy.

REFEREE: J Moss (West Yorkshire).