Manchester United take on Crystal Palace at Old Trafford this Saturday as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side look to continue their unbeaten start to the 2019/20 Premier League campaign.
United opened the season in perfect fashion with a 4-0 victory over Chelsea but suffered a minor setback on Monday, drawing 1-1 away at Wolves.
Roy Hodgson’s side have struggled to get going thus far and failed to score in both their opening encounters against Everton (0-0) and Sheffield United (1-0).
When the two sides met last season, the Red Devils stacked up four points from six – a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford followed by a 3-1 victory at Selhurst Park – and will be optimistic of claiming all three points on Saturday, which is reflected in the betting tips online.
Palace have never beaten United in their 20 Premier League meetings (D4 L16) and face a stern test to change history this weekend.
The Eagles’ last triumph over United came in a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park back in 1991 but have failed to win a league meeting since.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka moved from south London to Manchester this summer and the England right-back will face his former club for the first time, while Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha will be keen to put on a show against his former employers.
Despite Palace’s poor start to the season, Solskjaer remains cautious of the difficulties they could provide. He said: “It’s going to be a tough game as all these game in the Premier League.
“They are a very organised team; they’ve got pace up front, good counter attacks, big on set pieces and we have to do all parts of the game.
“We have to attack well, win the ball back when we lose it and we’ve got to be strong on set plays.”
United will be without defenders Eric Bailly and Tim Fosu-Mensah, and Diogo Dalot will join them on the sidelines after picking up another injury.
As for the visitors, Palace remain without their first-choice centre-back pairing James Tomkins (groin) and Mamadou Sakho (knee) who are yet to participate in the 2019/20 season.
The Red Devils will have to be aware of the counter-attacking threat Palace possess. Zaha returns to Old Trafford with a point to prove and could cause United’s back line some problems on Saturday.
Anthony Martial has netted twice in as many appearances this season and looks to be relishing his new centre-forward role. The 23-year-old has started the campaign excellently and will be hopeful of adding to his tally against the Eagles.
