Hellboy arrived on earth in East Bromwich. We are hoping that he didn’t venture westwards, although given Oxford’s record at the Hawthorns, that might be a forlorn hope.

In 13 games at this forlorn Birmingham suburb, United have won just once, in October 1997, thanks to goals from United legends Darren Purse and Nicky Banger.

United have played just three times in West Bromwich since that game, losing 2-0 in both league meetings but fashioning a very respectful 1-1 draw in the League Cup as a League Two side in August 2014, thanks to a Danny Hylton goal, before being eliminated on penalties.

That was one of just three draws on Baggies turf. The first was a game that has gone down in U’s history as the first match in the First Division in 1985, with Bobby McDonald scoring United’s first goal in the top flight.

John Trewick at West Brom in August 1985

The other point gained in B71 was a six-goal thriller in December 1996, with Oxford’s goals coming from Matt Elliott, Nigel Jemson and the Yellows Hellboy himself, Matt Murphy.

You can see United’s full record against West Brom HERE.

On the Day

The 8th November has historically been a really crap day for United, with just three wins from 16 games played on this date.

United’s first win on 8th November, and their first game in the Football League on this date, was in 1969 when they beat Carlisle United 1-0 in Division Two.

Oxford’s second win on this day was altogether more memorable. Alex Ferguson (not a Sir at this time) took charge of Manchester United for the first time and brought his highly paid stars to the Manor for a top-flight match in 1986. In front of shitloads of photographers whose only brief was to get photos of the top club’s top man, the proper United spoiled the party by winning 2-0 thanks to goals from John Aldridge and Neil Slatter.

United’s other 8th November win, and the only one to come on the road, was an FA Cup first round tie at Grimsby Town in 2014 saw James Roberts score his first Oxford goal in a 3-1 win. That took the U’s through to an ultimately unsuccessful second round game against Tranmere Rovers.

This time last year, Oxford visited Watford for a Friday night match that the home side won 1-0.

Check out all Oxford’s 8th November results HERE.

The Game

United will be hoping to bounce back from Tuesday’s stoking against a West Brom side that are themselves having problems.

The 3-0 defeat was Oxford’s worst league result of the season so far and Gary Rowett will have his work cut out to raise the side’s morale against the side in 15th place in the Championship. Last season’s 2-0 defeat at the Hawthorns still rankles, with the winning goal coming deep in stoppage time after goalie Jamie Cumming went up for a corner and United were caught on the break.

With the Yellows’ defensive frailties all too visible against Stoke, fans will be hoping that Hidde ter Avest and Jack Currie will be back to fitness to take their places in a back line that is already missing Brodie Spencer. Ben Davies will be on standby to help shore up the rearguard, with the possibility of Oxford playing a back five.

Matt Davies aside, the midfield and forwards don’t have the excuse of carrying injuries, only passengers. The one bit of good news from Tuesday’s game was the return to action of Ole Romeny for the first time since his pre-season injury in Indonesia.

Whether or not Rowett considers that Romeny is ready to start remains to be seen, but he has to try something to get the misfiring front line to be more productive. With neither Mark Harris nor Tom Bradshaw apparently good enough, the burden of scoring has fallen to Will Lankshear – who knows where the net is but is often found wanting against more experienced defenders – and Nik Prelec, who has only scored once so far.

There are more options among the wide players, with Stan Mills, Przsemysłav Płacheta, and Siriki Dembélé all offering pace, but not much else. With Tyler Goodrham apparently out of favour will a recall for Filip Krastev be a possibility?

West Brom come into the game with three defeats in their last four games and just two victories at home so far. Their last match at the Hawthorns was a goalless draw with Sheffield United, and the Baggies haven’t found the net in their last three outings.

Ryan Mason’s side are missing two midfielders, with Northern Ireland international Jayson Molumby missing for a few weeks and Manchester United loanee Toby Collyer also out. We are likely to see former United midfielder Alex Rowatt in the Baggies starting line-up.

Up top, West Brom are the fourth-lowest scorers in the Championship, with £4.75 million signing Aune Heggebo scoring just once this season and his possible replacement Josh Maja also getting just one goal so far this campaign.

All of which leads us to a ridiculously optimistic conclusion. We reckon that United will get at least a point tomorrow and maybe even all three. Will one of those come from the penalty spot? After 66 games in all competitions without a spot kick, we doubt it.