Manchester United have won their last 5 successive league games at home whilst Palace are undefeated in the last four league games (W1, D3). If history is anything to go by, it doesn’t look too bright for Palace, with United winning ten of the previous thirteen matches.
The last time these sides meet back in October last year it ended a 0-0 stalemate with Palace being the team registering more shots on target (Palace 5-1 United). This being said United had changed their fortune lately with the introduction of the youth player Marcus Rashford. Having scored seven goals in twelve appearances for United this young man will pose a real problem for Palace’s defence with the absence of Scott Dann hitting Palace hard.
Dann isn’t Palace’s only absentee with the likes of Dwight Gayle, Yannick Bolasie, Joel Ward and Joseph Ledley all missing. United are still without Adrian Januzaj, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Will Keane and Luke Shaw, who has recently been back in training. There is also good news for both teams with Ander Herrera set to return to United’s squad and James McArthur set to return for Palace.
Manchester United will be fighting for a UEFA Champions League spot whilst Palace will be fighting for mathematical safety. This should prove to an interesting game with my prediction being a 1-1 Draw. Seeing how United only scraped a narrow 1-0 victory over the now officially relegated Aston Villa. Palace are on the up, having gained a much needed point at Arsenal at the weekend.
My Predicted Line-Ups
Manchester United: de Gea, A Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Mata, Lingard, Fellaini, Rooney, Martial.
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Kelly, Mariappa, Delaney, Souare, Sako, Cabaye, Jedinak, Zaha, Wickham, Adebayor.