Crystal Palace vs Manchester United: Preview, Team News & Predictions
Manchester United travel to Selhurst Park on Monday night to take on an upstart Crystal Palace side.
The Eagles have never managed a league double over Manchester United. But there’s no better opportunity than this one as they’ve recently mustered 10 points from the last 12 available.
Following a slow start to life in the Premier League, Oliver Glasner has ensured Crystal Palace reached the magical 40-point mark.
They’re up against a United side who have beaten them in eight of their last 11 visits to South London but dropped points versus Burnley and AFC Bournemouth last month.
Erik ten Hag’s side has been a rather generous defence, as seen in the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City where they needed penalties to rescue them after they squandered a 3-0 lead.
With Newcastle United gaining momentum and Chelsea breathing down their neck, the Red Devils must avoid any slip-ups if they hope to play European football next season.
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Team News
Crystal Palace
Eagles skipper Marc Guehi is set to return to action after two months out due to a knee injury. He could be eased into the setup with an appearance off the bench.
Eberechi Eze has also returned to training and should make the starting XI alongside Michael Olise and Jean-Philippe Mateta. However, the likes of Sam Johnstone, Rob Holding and Jefferson Lerma remain sidelined.
Manchester United
United talisman Bruno Fernandes appeared to have endured a minor setback. On his availability, Ten Hag noted “We had an issue with Bruno, so he is a doubt for Monday, but he will fight to be a part of this game. Never rule him out for any game, and he is giving his best to be available.”
Jonny Evans is back to form and could slot in at center-half along with Harry Maguire, meaning Casemiro would return in his preferred midfield role.
Scott McTominay’s recovery from a knee injury makes for more good news, while Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford continue their spell on the sidelines.
Defenders Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez will miss out as well.
Predicted XI
Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Richards; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Olise, Mateta, Eze
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Evans, Maguire, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Antony, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
Match Prediction
Palace are a different side with Eze and Olise playing together. They’ve been defending well of late and could make life difficult for the opposition to find open space. Combine that with the vibrant Selhurst Park support and a striker in Mateta firing on all cylinders, and it looks like they could get the better of a backline blighted with injuries.
Predicted score: Crystal Palace 2-1 Manchester United
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Christal Palace. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.