Manchester United vs Crystal Palace – Match Preview & Prediction

We are finally back. Manchester United are starting the new campaign! After a seven-day delay in comparison to the most of the English football, the Red Devils are back in saddle and are ready to begin the Premier League season. The feeling around the club was great a few weeks ago, but in the last couple of weeks things have deteriorated. Obviously, the reason for that has been the fact that Manchester United have not been making new deals happen ever since Donny van de Beek joined the club from Ajax.

But now we have something else to look up for, instead of just simple transfer rumour mills. The football. Manchester United will host Crystal Palace this Saturday at Old Trafford, as they set to begin a new season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s guidance, hopeful of making further progress in all competitions.

Here are the things we should all know ahead of the Saturday afternoon clash against the Eagles.

Team News

Solskjaer will have the chance to use the best possible XI for the first match in the season, as there are only two players who are sidelined. Axel Tuanzebe will not be in action until October due to his foot injury, while we still do not know when Phil Jones will recuperate from his knee problems.

Therefore, we should expected David de Gea in goal, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in central defence, with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka either side of them. Nemanja Matic had a great second half of the season and will be starting alongside Paul Pogba.

We do not even need to mention that Bruno Fernandes will play in-between Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford, with Anthony Martial in front of them to spearhead the attack.

On the other hand, Crystal Palace could be expected to turn out in a rigid 4-4-2 formation, with Andre Ayew dropping off new permanent signing Michy Batshauyi. Wilfried Zaha will be expected to test Wan-Bissaka, but probably more attention should be paid to the other flank, where Eberechi Eze will face Shaw.

Roy Hodgson has a lot of issues with injuries, with as many as six players sidelined, including Christian Benteke, Patrick Van Aanholt and Gary Cahill.

Form Guide

This is Man United’s first match of the season, while Crystal Palace had a good start of the season, beating Southampton 1-0 at Selhurst Park. The only goal was scored by Wilfried Zaha, following Andros Townsend’s assist. Palace have been known as a team that knows how to harm United and the Devils should show their lessons have been learned.

Predicted Outcome

For all of the reasons listed above, it is clear that Manchester United will be favourites to win this match. Solskjaer will want his team to start the season in a strong fashion and get as many wins early on, while the legs are still fresh, to build the momentum and boost the confidence of the entire team. Manchester United are a better team and with the usual stuff from the front five players, they should be able to start the new campaign in the best possible fashion.

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