Manchester United, coming off a home win over Arsenal, will remain at Old Trafford for their next contest, a Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace. The theme of this match will be regime change, as Ralf Rangnick takes over as interim boss.
The outgoing caretaker manager, Michael Carrick, surprisingly announced that he is exiting the club entirely, ending a decade and a half long run of service. Let’s take a look at the rest of the team news, for the denizens of the Theatre of Dreams.
Crystal Palace at Manchester United FYIs:
Kick-off time: 2PM GMT, 5th December 2021, Old Trafford
Man United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Preview Pod: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Crystal Palace (LLDWW) Man United (WDWLL)
Luke Shaw (head), Nemanja Matic (hamstring) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hand) all face late fitness tests to be available for selection here. Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani are all nearing a return, but this match will come too soon for any of them to feature.
Also, Rangnick hinted that he could possibly be staying on at the club longer than his six month contract, maybe.
“I mean, the people with whom I have spoken so far have been very clear that we’re talking about a six-and-a-half-month role as a manager currently. We have never spoken about what will happen in the summer. Right now I’m fully aware they might be looking for a new manager,” Rangnick said about his future.
“Maybe if they ask my opinion and everything goes well and we develop the team, I might even make the same recommendation to the board that I did at Leipzig twice, when I recommended it might be a good idea to keep working with me for one year.
“But this is all hypothetical. We cannot speak about that. For me now, it’s about winning the next games and this is the major focus.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.