Crystal Palace will host Manchester United at Selhurst Park on Saturday as club football resumes after the international break.
The Eagles have had a difficult run of fixtures as they have already faced Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham in their last three Premier League outings.
Roy Hodgson’s side managed a positive result against Arsenal and will hope to impress against Manchester United, who lost their last league game.
Crystal Palace team news
Christian Benteke, Scott Dann and Connor Wickham are still recovering and aren’t match fit. Mamadou Sakho is doubtful but Wilfried Zaha could make it in time for the clash.
Predicted Crystal Palace lineup vs Manchester United
Defence
Aaron Wan-Bissaka sustained a knock during the international break but we could expect the 21-year-old to return to action this weekend. He will be deployed in the right-back position while Patrick van Aanholt will occupy the opposite flank.
Mamadou Sakho is a doubt and he could be replaced by Martin Kelly, who will partner James Tomkins at the heart of the defence.
Kelly has made only two league appearances this season and it will be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure of facing Manchester United this weekend. If Sakho is fit, however, he could start over Kelly.
Wayne Hennessey will start in goal, as usual, he will search for his fourth clean sheet of the season.
Midfield
Hodgson is likely to resort to his trusted midfield duo of Cheikhou Kouyate and Luka Milivojevic in midfield. Kouyate’s presence has been crucial with the former West Ham midfielder averaging over 2.5 tackles and 3 aerial duels per game while Milivojevic’s all-around qualities will be put to the test against the United midfield.
James McArthur will be deployed as the right-sided midfielder, mostly to fend off the threat provided by the Manchester United wingers. Max Meyer, on the other hand, will be tasked with the responsibility of providing the creative spark from the left flank.
The former Schalke star hasn’t quite been able to impress at his new club, having averaged only 0.6 key passes per game. But, his technical qualities could be useful against a United side, who have often appeared tentative this season.
Attack
Both Christian Benteke and Connor Wickham will be missing this weekend, which will force Hodgson to deploy Wilfred Zaha and Andros Townsend in attack.
Both the players are excellent dribblers, combining 44 dribbles whilst providing 27 key passes but it will be their product in front of goal that will matter this weekend. It will be a special game for Zaha, in particular as he will be facing his former club.
