Man United's four game winning streak was brought to a halt by Chelsea when the two sides met at the Stamford Bridge on the 18th of April. Everton inflicted the Red Devils to their second consecutive defeat who have now dropped to fourth place in the league table.
James McCarthy opened up the scoring as Everton hit the visitors on the break and the lead was doubled by John Stones who scored from a set piece. Kevin Mirallas put Man United's chances of a comeback to bed after scoring the third goal which came after some shocking defending from the back line.
Van Gaal's counterpart on Saturday Tony Pulis has heaped further pressure on the Dutchman by claiming that the former Bayern boss will have to ensure his side fights for the league title next season. The former Stoke boss claimed that Van Gaal's experience with big clubs in the past will help him in his quest.
"Louis has obviously spent a bit of money and brought quite a few players in, I think he has had a year to look at it," Pulis said.
"The difference from himself and [Chelsea manager Jose] Mourinho was that Jose knew the league. This is Van Gaal's first season in the league. Next year he has to come close to winning the league, he'll know that.
"It's been great experience for him this year. I'm sure he'll add a few players to the squad next year. They'll want to win it, I see them getting stronger, I can't see them getting weaker.
"David didn't get it [time], but Louis has, most probably on the basis he has been successful at bigger clubs. He's won major titles at bigger clubs. He's earned it by what he's done elsewhere, that's a fact of life."
After suffering three straight defeats West Brom recorded a win over Crystal Palace and followed it with a 0-0 stalemate against Liverpool. This means that Albion are now seven points clear of the relegation zone but have difficult fixtures ahead against the likes of United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Tony Pulis has stressed that his side needs a couple of more points from their remaining games if they are to avoid dropping out of the Premier League.
"We still need a couple of points and we have a tough run-in," he added. "We're underdogs in every game."
Man United have concerns over captain Wayne Rooney who sustained an injury in the match against Everton last time out but is expected to be fit enough to start. The match might come too soon for the likes of Robin Van Persie and Adnan Januzaj who played for the Man United U21 squad but are still lacking match fitness.
Manchester United vs West Brom team sheets
Man United's XI: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Blind, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Young, Rooney, van Persie.
West Brom's XI: Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Lescott, Brunt, Yacob, Gardner, Mulumbu, Fletcher, Berahino.
Man United's bench: Valdes, Blackett, Jones, Di Maria, Januzaj, Pereira, Falcao
West Brom's bench: Rose, Wisdom, Baird, Sessegnon, McManaman, Ideye, Anichebe.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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