Manchester United entertain Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in today’s Premier League clash....CONTINUE READING
The Red Devils saw their six-match unbeaten league run end at the Emirates Stadium last month as they suffered a late 3-2 defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
The club have since beaten Reading and Nottingham Forest in the Cup competitions and have also booked their spot in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
United will now be aiming to return to winning ways in the league. The club are currently three points ahead of fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
They have a brilliant opportunity to extend the advantage by inflicting a defeat on Palace, who surprised them with a late 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park last month.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
David de Gea was handed a breather in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Forest but is expected to return between the sticks this afternoon. The Spaniard will be aiming for his ninth shut-out of the Premier League season.
Diogo Dalot was back in training earlier this week but manager Erik ten Hag may handle him with caution after two muscle injuries. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has been in fine form from the right-back spot, should keep his place against his former club.
Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez are pretty much guaranteed starters for United in central defence when it comes to the league games. The duo are expected to keep their places and the same goes for Luke Shaw in the left-back position.
In midfield, there could be a new face in Marcel Sabitzer. Ten Hag said in his pre-match press conference that the Austrian is a very fit player and also admitted that the Bayern Munich loanee could make his full Premier League debut today.
The 28-year-old will most certainly occupy the number eight role following Christian Eriksen’s injury. Casemiro will be his partner in the centre of the park. The Brazilian is now an undisputed starter in the defensive midfield position.
Further forward, there will probably be one change. Anthony Martial made his comeback from a leg injury by scoring off the bench against Forest. We fancy the France international to lead the attack against Palace ahead of Wout Weghorst.
Behind him, it should be the usual attacking trio. Marcus Rashford has been in the form of his life and was recently named the Premier League Player of the Month. The England star will obviously start on the left wing with Antony on the other flank.
Bruno Fernandes has recently led by example as the captain. The Portuguese has made more goal contributions since the turn of the year. Against Forest recently, he was brilliant with his distribution and bagged the man of the match. He will start in his customary number 10 role.
How Man Utd could line up vs Crystal Palace;
