Manchester United vs Crystal Palace preview and prediction from Auyash Dureha
Manchester United has not had a good start to its Premier League campaign. With Swansea, Chelsea and Liverpool, United have faced three of the most threatening attacks in the league. United was slightly cautious in going forward in all the games. Had the finishing of its strikers been as clinical as it was against Swansea, the team would have been higher up the table.
But that shouldn’t be a major concern for the fans at the moment. These are still early days for David Moyes, who has been handed a difficult list of fixtures in the first couple of months. The thing that will concern the United fans most is the “Late Comeback” factor, or rather, the lack of it.
Despite needing to score a goal in both the previous games, United players were not seen making that final push which we regularly witnessed during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. The last minute goals and comebacks are a part of the club’s DNA and the new manager has to ensure that his team retains the tradition of crossing the line in every situation.
Up next for Manchester United are one of the new entrants to the Premier League, Crystal Palace. United would want to improve upon an unimpressive show against Chelsea in front of its supporters. David Moyes could be pardoned for being slightly tactical in the previous home game, but he must allow the players to express themselves and re-impose the philosophy of attractive football.
Crystal Palace is coming to Old Trafford on the back of an impressive win against Paulo Di Canio’s Sunderland. Palace was marginally worse off than its opponents in terms of possession, but easily outscored Sunderland on total attempts on goal. Ian Holloway’s teams have a history of playing attacking football, regardless of the opposition. United will not expect anything different.
Moyes will be without the injured striker Wayne Rooney for this game but has plenty of other options to fill his boots. The challenge for the manager lies in keeping his players fresh for the upcoming games against Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City. This is where squad strength comes in and Moyes will most likely give rest to certain players who were part of the recently held World Cup qualifiers. This fixture also allows Wilfried Zaha to finally make his much awaited Old Trafford appearance. Zaha’s inclusion in the team will not be a complete surprise as the youngster is quite familiar with the playing style of his former team-mates and can be a useful asset on either of the wings.
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Probable XI
De Gea
Jones Evans Vidic Evra
Carrick Fellaini
Zaha Young
RVP Welbeck
United will be confident about getting all three points against Holloway’s team and in all likelihood they will not come out disappointed. However, Moyes must ensure that the players remain fresh for the next two games which could play a major role in shaping up Manchester United’s European and domestic season.
Prediction: Manchester United 3 Crystal Palace 0