Here is everything you need to know ahead of the Manchester United’s trip to face Crystal Palace on Monday night.
Team News
Crzstal Palace will be without a number of players for this match. Due to injuries, Glasner cannot count on Sam Johnstone, Jefferson Lerma, Matheus Franca, Cheick Doucoure and Rob Holding. The good news for the Austrian manager is that Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi are getting back into the matchday squad after beeing out with knee injuries. We should expect Palace to start in their usual 3-4-3 system, with Eze alongside Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise, who could be a dangerous trio.
On the other hand, Man United have many more issues in terms of personnel, which is now a tradition this season. Nruno Fernandes could miss out after he was pictured wearing protection on his wrist, while Harry Maguire will be out for three weeks after a muscle injury he recently sustained. This will probably mean Jonny Evans will return to starting lineup, but the list of other players out of contention is quite long. Anthony Martial, Lisandro Mratinez, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Marcus Rashford, Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwalla are those Erik Ten Hag cannot count on again and there will have to be some changes in the starting 11 once more.
Form Guide
Since Oliver Glasner took over at Selhurst Park, following the departure of Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace are on the rise. After their poor run of getting one point against Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Manchester City, Glasner’s team managed to go the opposite way. First, they defeated Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield to deny them the chance of fighting for the title, before putting in two really strong performances at home: a 5-2 win against West Ham and a 2-0 win against Newcastle. This was followed with a 1-1 draw against Fulham, so Palace have won 10 out of 12 possible points in this run since mid-April, and against teams which are all above them in the Premier League standings. Their attack is functioning much better and the Devils will have to be careful here.
As for Manchester United, things are far from being good. Their 1-1 draw against Burnley at the end of April meant United have now won just seven points from possible 18 in their last six league matches. That is a run which stretches all the way to 30 March, when they drew 1-1 against Brentford. In fact, United are without consecutive league wins since mid-February, when they defeated Aston Villa and Luton Town 2-1, both away from home. Now, Erik Ten Hag’s side is in danger of losing the race for Europa League qualification too, if they do not pick up their form. With four matches to go, Man United not only have to travel to London to face an in-form Palace side, but will afterwards follow that with matches against title-chasing Arsenal and on-the-rise Newcastle side. A win at Selhurst Park could also be an important morale boost before the FA Cup comes around at the end of the month.
Predicted Outcome
Considering everything, this will be yet another tough match for the Devils, but hopefully this could be the end of the hosts’ great run. We predict Manchester United will beat Crystal Palace 2-1.
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