Manchester United are nothing if not consistent- at least against the rest of the big six. With yet another very drab goalless draw yesterday at Chelsea, it is now six games played against the rest of the big six, and no goals scored in any of them.
Five of the six were nil-nil, with only Arsenal getting the one goal in the first meeting between the two sides. So that’s well over 540 minutes of football, with just one goal scored.
If you want to make a soccer prediction that has a high likelihood of coming true, then prognosticate a scorless stalemate for United the next time they play a big six side. It’s not fun for anybody involved; not by any means.
At least it’s a quick turnaround to the next game, so that means we can wash the taste of that drab out of our mouths very quickly. The next league fixture sees United travel to Crystal Palace. Here are the FYIs:
Kickoff: 8:15 GMT March 3, Selhurst Park
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
PL Form Guide: United DWDDW Palace DWLLW
PL Position: United- 2nd, 50 pts Palace – 13th, 33 points
Broadcast: Sky Sports (UK)
Officials: Referee- Andre Marriner, Assistant referees- Scott Ledger and Marc Perry, Fourth official- Kevin Friend, VAR- Mike Dean, Assistant VAR- Stephen Child
Team News for Both Sides
For United, both Scott McTominay and Donny Van De Beek returned on the weekend, and that means Edinson Cavani is the only short term injury absentee. The South American striker faces a late fitness test in order to be match fit for this one.
Meanwhile Paul Pogba and Phil Jones remain out as long term injury absentees. Switching over to Palace, good old friend Wilfried Zaha is unlikely to face his former team here. He’s been out with a thigh injury that is expected to keep him out of this match as well. Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins remain out as long term injury absentees while Jeffrey Schlupp is still battling a hamstring problem and James McArthur is recovering from an unspecified knock.
Prediction: Manchester United 1, Crystal Palace 0
United have never lost at Selhurst Park against Palace in the Premier League era (Wimbledon also used it as their home between 1991 and 2003), and I just don’t see that changing now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.