There were glimpses at Stamford Bridge at the weekend but for all the good that could be taken from that game, the failure to take chances came back to bite the Eagles. The games come thick and fast and do not come any easier but Patrick Vieira and his men must find a way.
TIME/ DATE/ VENUE
- 8pm
- 18th January 2023
- Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
PREVIOUS MEETING
United last made the trip to South London back in May when Palace ran out winners thanks to a goal before half time from Wilfried Zaha after latching on to mistake by Bruno Fernandes.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Wilfried Zaha (7.8)
OFFICIALS
- Referee: Robert Jones
- Assistants: Adam Nunn, Nick Hopton
- Fourth official: Stuart Attwell
- VAR: Neil Swarbrick
- Assistant VAR: Neil Davies
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – James McArthur and Nathan Ferguson continue to be missing in action while there is a doubt about Joachim Andersen who left the game against Chelsea early with what is believed to be a calf problem.
CHELSEA – Donny van de Beek, Jadon Sancho and Diogo Dalot and Axel Tuanzebe are all ruled out while Marcus Rashford is a slight doubt.
DISCIPLINARY THIS SEASON
RED CARDS – Tyrick Mitchell (1), James Tomkins (1)
YELLOW CARDS (5+) – Cheick Doucoure (6), Marc Guehi (6), Bruno Fernandes (5), Diogo Dalot (5), Scott McTominay (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 19/07/22 United 3-1 Palace
- 22/05/22 Palace 1-0 United
- 05/12/21 United 1-0 Palace
- 03/03/21 Palace 0-0 United
- 19/09/20 United 1-3 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 15/01/23 Chelsea 1-0 Palace
- 07/01/23 Palace 1-2 Southampton
- 04/01/23 Palace 0-4 Spurs
- 31/12/22 Bournemouth 0-2 Palace
- 26/12/22 Palace 0-3 Fulham
Last FIVE results for UNITED;
- 14/01/23 United 2-1 Manchester City
- 10/01/23 United 3-0 Charlton
- 06/01/23 United 3-1 Everton
- 03/01/23 United 3-0 Bournemouth
- 31/12/22 Wolves 0-1 United
LEAGUE POSITION
Heading into the fixture, United are 4th in the Premier League with 38 points from 18 games played while Palace are 12th with 22 points from 18 games played.
RECORD AGAINST UNITED
- Played 61
- Won 10
- Drawn 12
- Lost 39
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Casemiro 7.26
- Bruno Fernandes 7.24
- Wilfried Zaha 6.91
- Eberechi Eze 6.91
ONE TO WATCH
CASEMIRO
FORMER CLUBS – Sao Paulo, Real Madrid, Porto (loan)
The 30-year-old Brazilian midfielder has had quite the impact since he arrived at Old Trafford. There were many that questioned United going for an aging player but it is no coincidence that his performances since joining United have seen an upturn in form for the club.
KEY CLASH
TYRICK MITCHELL v ANTONY
It is clear that the full back position at Palace is a problem but Mitchell could buck the trend and his return from suspension against Chelsea was welcome. He will be up against the Brazilian winger which will really test his ability.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace beat United 1-0 on the final day last season, claiming their first home league win against them since 1991.
- The Eagles are vying to win back-to-back games against United for the first time in their history.
- United have lost 3 of the past 6 top-flight meetings, as many defeats as in the previous 31 encounters.
- Palace have lost 4 of their past 5 league matches, failing to score in any of those defeats.
- The Eagles can equal their longest Premier League losing streak under Patrick Vieira: 3 games, set between November and December 2021.
- Palace are winless in all 9 league fixtures this season against teams currently in the top half of the table (D3, L6).
- They have already equalled last season’s final tally of 4 home defeats. All of their dropped points at Selhurst Park this season came in London derbies.
- Palace are winless in 13 league home games played on a Wednesday since beating Villa in their first such fixture in February 1993 (D7, L6).
- Wilfried Zaha can go 6 consecutive league appearances without a goal for the first time since January to April 2021. He has 3 goals in his last 3 games against United.
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Wilfried Zaha (6 – 15th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Michael Olise (4 – 12th in PL)
- PASSES – Joachim Andersen (1034 – 15th in PL)
- TACKLES – Cheick Doucoure (45 – 8th in PL)
- TOUCHES – Joachim Andersen (1273 – 19th in PL)
- SHOTS – Wilfried Zaha (40 – 16th in PL)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (53 – 11th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1956, Manchester United’s Busby Babes won the league title with an average player age of just 22 years.
PREDICTION
In what is a very tough schedule of fixtures, we expect a better performance from Palace at home to follow up that against Chelsea at the weekend but with the form United have been in, they look an ominous proposition. A good performance but a narrow loss.
FINAL SCORE: 1-2
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 7/2
- Draw – 13/5
- Away – 3/4
- Both teams to score – 20/23
RESOURCES
