With a week off in the back pocket for Patrick Vieira and his men, it is a tip to take on a side that they took a surprise point off at Selhurst recently and head to Old Trafford with a couple of reinforcements added on Transfer Deadline Day.
TIME/ DATE/ VENUE
- 3pm
- 4th February 2023
- Old Trafford, Sir Matt Busby Way, Stretford, Manchester M16 0RA
PREVIOUS MEETING
Palace last made the trip up to Old Trafford in December 2021 and put in a valiant performance but returned to South London after defeat with hosts getting the only goal late on courtesy of Mason Greenwood.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Fred (8.5)
OFFICIALS
- Referee: Andre Marriner
- Assistants: Simon Long, Scott Ledger
- Fourth official: Josh Smith
- VAR: Tony Harrington
- Assistant VAR: Harry Lennard
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Joachim Anderson and Wilfried Zaha continue to miss out and while James McArhur and Nathan Ferguson are back in training neither will be risked against United. New signings Naouirou Ahamada and Albert Sambi Lokongo may feature.
UNITED – Donny van de Beek and Christian Eriksen are out due to injury while Jack Butland is unable to face his parent club. Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot are both doubts. Marcel Sabitzer who joined on loan from Bayern Munich could feature in some capacity.
DISCIPLINARY THIS SEASON
RED CARDS – Tyrick Mitchell (1), James Tomkins (1)
YELLOW CARDS (5+) – Cheick Doucoure (7), Marc Guehi (7), Bruno Fernandes (5), Casemiro (5), Diogo Dalot (5), Scott McTominay (5)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 18/01/23 Palace 1-1 United
- 22/05/22 Palace 1-0 United
- 05/12/21 United 1-0 Palace
- 03/03/21 Palace 0-0 Palace
- 19/09/20 United 1-3 Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 21/01/23 Palace 0-0 Newcastle
- 18/01/23 Palace 1-1 United
- 15/01/23 Chelsea 1-0 Palace
- 07/01/23 Palace 1-2 Southampton
- 04/01/23 Palace 0-4 Spurs
Last FIVE results for United;
- 01/02/23 United 2-0 Forest
- 28/01/23 United 3-1 Reading
- 25/01/23 Forest 0-3 United
- 22/01/23 Arsenal 3-2 United
- 18/01/23 Palace 1-1 United
LEAGUE POSITION
Heading into the fixture, Palace are 12th in the Premier League with 24 points from 20 games played while United are 4th with 39 points from the same amount of games.
RECORD AGAINST UNITED
- Played 62
- Won 10
- Drawn 13
- Lost 39
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Bruno Fernandes 7.29
- Casemiro 7.27
- Eberechi Eze 6.90
- Joachim Andersen 6.87
ONE TO WATCH
MARCUS RASHFORD
FORMER CLUBS – Fletcher Moss Rangers
The England international has returned from the World Cup in fantastic form and his goals have been a key part of United pushing on since the return of domestic football.
KEY CLASH
CHRIS RICHARDS v WOUT WEGHORST
The USA international has been in fantastic form since an injury to Joachim Andersen had many a Palace fan concerned, but there was no need. He will likely be up against the big Dutch striker still finding his feet since joining from Burnley via a loan spell at Besiktas. They both have something in common however, having played in the Bundesliga before heading to England.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- United have beaten Palace just once in five meetings (D2, L2)
- Palace have won 2 of their past 3 league matches at Old Trafford, while United have scored just 3 goals in the last 4 encounters at home
- United have won 12 consecutive home games in all competitions, their best streak since a run of 20 from December 2010 to September 2011 under Sir Alex Ferguson
- They have conceded just 1 goal in their last 5 home league matches
- The Red Devils have kept 8 league clean sheets in this campaign, as many as they managed in the whole of last season
- They have dropped 5 points from a winning position in their last 2 league matches, having not let a lead slip in their opening 18 league fixtures this season
- Marcus Rashford has scored 10 goals in 12 appearances in all competitions since the World Cup, more than any other current Premier League player
- Bruno Fernandes has scored or provided an assist in all 4 of United’s Premier League matches in 2023 (2 goals and 2 assists)
- Palace have taken just 2 points from the last 12 available and are yet to win in any competition in 2023
- They have failed to score in 5 of their past 7 Premier League games
- Palace’s next defeat will be their 400th in the top flight
- This season, Palace are winless in all 11 league matches against teams in the top half of the table (D5, L6)
- They have lost 21 of their last 29 Premier League fixtures without Wilfried Zaha (W4, D4)
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Wilfried Zaha (6 – 17th in PL)
- ASSISTS – Michael Olise (4 – 13th in PL)
- PASSES – Marc Guehi (1116 – 13th in PL)
- TACKLES – Cheick Doucoure (52 – 5th in PL)
- TOUCHES – Marc Guehi (1344 – 19th in PL)
- SHOTS – Wilfried Zaha (41 – 17th in PL)
- FOULS – Jeffrey Schlupp (35 – 3rd in PL)
- DISPOSSESSED – Wilfried Zaha (70 – 1st in PL)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (63 – 5th in PL)
DID YOU KNOW?
In March 2013, Japanese international Shinji Kagawa bagged a hat-trick for Manchester United in a 4-0 victory over Norwich. It was the first time an Asian player scored three goals in an English Premier League game.
PREDICTION
United have played a lot of football since the World Cup and the Eagles did so well at Selhurst recently. That could encourage Palace into thinking they could return from Old Trafford with something, particularly after the exertions but United in both cup competitions, having reached the fifth round of the FA Cup last weekend and the EFL Cup Final in midweek.
FINAL SCORE: 1-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 4/11
- Draw – 7/2
- Away – 15/2
- Both teams to score – 11/10
RESOURCES
