Manchester United are at Selhurst Park for a Monday evening fixture against Crystal Palace.
As the last two teams to play this Bank Holiday weekend, United have slipped down to 8th place behind both Newcastle and Chelsea, so this fixture is really a must-win if we want to make it into the Europa League next season.
The Red Devils are in a rut, with just one win in the last 6 games; having drawn our last fixture at home to Burnley.
Champions League qualification is mathematically impossible, having looked unlikely for a long time, and Newcastle and Chelsea have hit good form in the past few weeks. Most Reds would probably prefer no European football over being in the Europa Conference League, but the Europa League itself is still a decent competition, which also offers a route back into the Champions League for the winners.
All in all, this is yet another ‘must-win’ game for United.
Manchester United Team News
The headline for United’s team news is that Bruno Fernandes – who almost never misses a game – is an injury doubt after sustaining a knock against Burnley.
Marcus Rashford looks unlikely to feature, but Scott McTominay, Anthony Martial, Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez have all returned to training. However, given the length of the layoffs for some of those players, it’s unlikely they will all feature in the matchday squad. United’s defensive woes deepen with Harry Maguire out for three weeks due to a muscle injury, meaning he is touch-and-go for the FA Cup final.
The centre back pairing has the potential to be a real headache for Erik Ten Hag. Can Jonny Evans play for 90 minutes? If not, then who??
Manchester United Possible Lineup
Onana;
Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Evans, Dalot;
Mainoo, Eriksen, Mount;
Antony, Hojlund, Garnacho.
Opposition team news
Although Palace have no real jeopardy to avoid, they are a dangerous team in a decent run of form, with recent notable wins against Newcastle and Liverpool. Having essentially nothing to play for often makes a team play with more freedom, and they have some dangerous attacking players.
Potential United target Michael Olise should be fit, and the talented Eberichi Eze should have recovered from a recent knee injury in time for the game.
Palace centre back Marc Guehi has recovered from a knee injury and could play for the first time in two months
Form Guide
Manchester United Premier League form: DWDDL
Manchester United (all competitions): DWWDD
Palace Premier League form: DWWWL
Prediction
It’s a depleted United side against a Palace team in decent form, at a difficult away ground. United have more to play for but Palace have taken some big scalps recently, so this could be a tough one.
The Reds rarely keep a clean sheet these days so we expect Palace to score. We’re going for a back-and-forth encounter, ending in a draw.
Predicted score: Crystal Palace 2-2 United
