Crystal Palace head up to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included in our preview, alongside a score prediction.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Preview
Fresh off the back of securing a third-place finish in the Europa League league phase, Manchester United return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon with a home clash against Crystal Palace.
Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo grabbed the all-important goals as the Red Devils beat FCSB 2-0 in Bucharest on Thursday night – a result that sealed automatic qualification to the competition’s round of 16.
It extends United’s winning run across all competitions to three successive matches, following on from their 2-1 win over Rangers last week and their narrow 1-0 win over Fulham in the league last Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s side occupy 12th place in the table heading into Gameweek 24, 12 points adrift of the top four, while Palace are just two points behind in 13th after their 2-1 defeat to Brentford last weekend.
Boss 🫡#CPFC pic.twitter.com/eINxrcMRlx
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 31, 2025
The Eagles enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions before the Bees’ visit to Selhurst Park – a streak that included draws against Bournemouth and Chelsea, as well as comfortable wins over West Ham and Leicester.
Oliver Glasner’s side have already faced off against Manchester United this term, with September’s reverse fixture ending in a goalless stalemate. Last season, Palace did the double over United, winning 1-0 and 4-0 in their two league meetings.
Manchester United Team News
The Red Devils remain without Luke Shaw (calf), Mason Mount (thigh) and Jonny Evans (muscular).
Amorim is expected to make several changes from the side that beat FCSB in midweek, with Andre Onana, Harry Maguire, Manuel Ugarte, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo all tipped to return to the starting lineup.
Crystal Palace Team News
As for the Eagles, Cheick Doucoure (knee), Chadi Riad (knee) and Joel Ward (calf) are sidelined due to their respective injury concerns, while Adam Wharton (groin) and Matheus Franca (groin) are doubts.
Riad’s knee injury comes as a particular blow for Glasner, as it leaves him with just three senior central defenders. This is because Rob Holding remains frozen out of the first-team picture and Trevoh Chalobah has been recalled by Chelsea.
Romain Esse, who scored on his debut as a late substitute against Brentford last Sunday, could make his first start for the club, however Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr are likely to retain their spots in the lineup.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Predicted Lineups
Manchester United Predicted Lineup:
Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mazraoui; Diallo, Garnacho; Hojlund
Crystal Palace Predicted Lineup:
Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Prediction
The UK’s best football betting sites have Manchester United are 1/1 favourites to prevail at Old Trafford on Sunday, while a Crystal Palace victory is priced at around 11/4 and a draw is valued at around 5/2.
We at SportsCasting agree with the bookmakers’ assessment and are predicting a narrow win for the Red Devils.
United are in-form after winning three in a row, while Palace come into this one off the back of a defeat. As well, the Eagles are having to deal with numerous injury concerns, especially across the backline, and we expect the hosts to take full advantage.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace
