Game Week 24 Predictions: United to beat Palace at Old Trafford

Manchester United host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford, aiming to build momentum. Can the United secure a vital win or will Palace spring a surprise.

Crystal Palace must stay compact when they travel to Old Trafford to avoid United's rage. (Photo credit: Opta)

 Manchester United vs Crystal Palace

Old Trafford

3:00 pm

The Red Devils, for all their troubles in all competitions, advanced to the round of 16 in the Europa League without losing a single game; that’s something to cheer for Ruben Amorim and his lads.

There’s so much going on in the United squad; Marcus Rashford has finally gotten a breather; he is on his way to Aston Villa after the two sides agreed to a loan deal with an option to buy. It is time for us to know who was right, Rashford or the Manchester United bench.

Crystal Palace sits in 13th, two points behind Manchester United in 12th, and will go above the Red Devils if they can manage to do what they don’t do often, which is to find a way to beat United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Palace has three wins in their last five, but they lost at Selhurst Park last weekend to Brentford, a result that set them back a little bit, but they can pick things up here, post a great result, and springboard to greater things going forward.

The incentive for both sides isn’t a lot; for the hosts, it’s a chance to move above Brentford and into 11th on the log while the Eagles also can only move up one place, and by doing that, they will be trading places with their opponent in this fixture.

The state of mind in both sides is quite different. United can feel all the positives coming after Lisandro Martinez scored a late belter to hand United the win at Fulham last weekend, and they also enjoyed a cruising win over FSCB in the Europa League on Thursday.

For Palace, they have rested for one whole week and should be able to exploit the fatigue in the United squad; however, they will also be playing against a team that has all the momentum after stringing important wins together.

The next question is selection; the injury woes at Old Trafford have subsided, and at this point, they don’t have lots of excuses. Luke Shaw, Johnny Evans, and Mason Mount are the only absentees for Amorim, with Rashford on his way out of the club.

Eberechi Eze is a huge doubt for this one with foot problems, while Chris Richards and Cheick Doucoure are both unavailable too. That leaves Oliver Glasner with Ismaila Sarr as his only creative source, with Daichi Kamada set to support him.

Amorim likes to chop and shove; Bruno Fernandes is certain to start, and so is Amad Traore. Kobbie Mainoo’s performance in midweek must have earned him playing time while Alejandro Garnacho continues to wait on the transfer window possibilities.

Verdict: Straight win United.