The two clubs meet for the first time since United won the FA Cup at Wembley in May.
A lot has happened at Old Trafford since their cup triumph but while there are several new faces in South London, it has been a case of very similar form in the league for Palace. However, two games unbeaten having scored six and conceded three is something to build on and Alan Pardew will be looking for some success from a fixture that has not been historically kind to the Eagles.
The Red Devils travel to Selhurst Park off the back of a good home win against Totteham Hotspur which extended their upbeaten run to eight games in all competitions. Their last defeat was at the beginning of November against Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Europa League. Domestically, it is also eight games unbeaten with their last defeat coming at the hands of Chelsea in October.
TEAM NEWS
CRYSTAL PALACE – James Tomkins and Bakary Sako are both struggling with knocks while Connor Wickham (knee), Loic Remy (calf), Steve Mandanda (knee), Jonathan Benteke (knee) and Pape Souare (leg) are all longer term absentees.
MANCHESTER UNITED – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (ankle), Luke Shaw (knock), Chris Smalling (toe) and James Wilson (knee) all miss out.
ACTION REPLAY
It took until the 78th minute for either side to find the net at Wembley and it was Jason Puncheon that put the Eagles ahead but it lastered a matter of minutes before Spaniard Juan Mata popped to equalise for the Manchester club. Even though the Red Devils were reduced to ten men in extra time, Jesse Lingard broke Palace hearts with an excellent goals with just ten minutes left to play.
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 08/11/2014: Manchester United 1-0 Crystal Palace
- 09/05/2015: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
- 31/10/2015: Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester United
- 20/04/2016: Manchester United 2-0 Crystal Palace
- 21/05/2016: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 05/11/2016: Burnley 3-2 Crystal Palace
- 19/11/2016: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City
- 26/11/2016: Swansea City 5-4 Crystal Palace
- 03/12/2016: Crystal Palace 3-0 Southampton
- 10/12/2016: Hull City 3-3 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for United;
- 27/11/2016: Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United
- 30/11/2016: Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United
- 04/12/2016: Everton 1-1 Manchester United
- 08/12/2016: Zorya 0-2 Manchester United
- 11/12/2016: Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
FORM PLAYERS (courtesy of Who Scored)
Top two rated players from each team so far this season;
- Wilfried Zaha 7.68
- Christian Benteke 7.62
- Paul Pogba 7.60
- Danny Blind 7.41
ONE TO WATCH
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
The Swedish international arrived at Old Trafford in a blaze of glory and has so far flattered to decieve. There is no doubting the quality of the 35 year old from Malmo particularly when you consider the clubs that the striker has played for – Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris St Germain and now United. Having retired from international football, Ibrahimovic represented Sweden 116 times, scoring 62 goals and while many are not keen on his apparant arrogance, it is hard to argue that he is one the most iconic footballers of his generation.
PREDICTION
Final league position – 5th
It is difficult to see where United will end up come the end of the season because they have yet to hit any kind of gear so far this season. They are on a good run of form at the moment but they are likely to need something a little special to break into the top four this season. It is certainly not beyond them with the calibre of players at the disposal of Jose Mourinho but it all depends if they all hit form at the same and right time.
- TEB prediction – draw
- Doctor Joshi’s prediction (see link below) – away win
- Who Scored prediction – draw
BETTING ODDS (courtesy of Paddy Power)
- Home 4/1
- Draw 3/1
- Away 4/6
- Both teams to score 8/11
FIND OUT WHAT UNITED FAN DOCTOR JOSHI TOLD TEB THIS WEEK IN THE UNITED VIEW
