Patrick Rees
Predicted Manchester United Line-up To Face Crystal Palace In The Premier League
Manchester United need to keep up the pace after a scintillating performance against CSKA in their Champions League group stage game as they now face Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Jose Mourinho has already expressed his grief about the congested fixture list by branding Liverpool “luckier” than his side, but there is practically nothing he can do about it. His fate, however, has helped one way or the other as his team face Crystal Palace who are yet to score a goal in six Premier League outings this season. The Eagles have endured a difficult start to the new campaign despite the fact that they have some promising players at their disposal.
Manchester United, on the other hand, will look to to compete for the top spot on the Premier League log. United sure have this perfect opportunity of clinching the top spot as City face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. United’s recent Champions League line-up gave us a clear picture of Mourinho’s tactical experiments. He deployed a 3-back formation despite criticising it a few days back, but might well return to his usual 4-2-3-1 as Premier League games are of utmost importance.
Having said that, let’s take a look at how Manchester United would line up against Crystal Palace this weekend.
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
A no brainer. The Spaniard, despite starting the Champions League game, will look to add another Premier League clean sheet in order to keep himself in the running for the golden glove award. The Spaniard, so far, has managed 5 clean sheets out of 6 PL games and this could be his another. Needs to stay on his toes though as Benteke possess a great aerial threat.
Defenders: Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Ashley Young
Antonio Valencia didn’t fly to Moscow with the rest of the squad for unknown reasons and even though United are yet to comment on it, it is highly expected that the Ecuadorian will return to the starting XI against the Eagles. He has been exceptional this season and already has a goal at his mercy.
Both Eric Bailly and Phil Jones cemented a perfect defensive partnership and for many, they resemble that golden Vidic-Ferdinand era, and for all right reasons we must say. Manchester United have conceded just 2 goals in the Premier League so far and it is all down to the brilliance of these two. While Jones is calm and composed, Bailly is a beast, to say the least. The Ivorian hardly gives his opponent any breathing space while on the ball and Benteke is sure to have a hard time at Old Trafford.
Young, who was made captain against CSKA, has been absolutely brilliant since his comeback. It is fair to say that his versatility has troubled the game time of Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian and Daley Blind. Expect him or Blind to start as the left-back.
Holding Midfielders: Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera
How to describe the domination of Nemanja Matic? Or should we simply say Matic is a synonym of domination? Chelsea might have got Bakayako, but they have given us a much, much better player. A sure starter. With that being done, it is hard to comment on who will be his partner. With Paul Pogba injured, United have to turn to the likes of Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera or Marouane Fellaini. It should be Ander Herrera.
Attacking Midfield: Mata, Mkhitaryan, Rashford
Mata remains Manchester United’s one of the most creative outlets and his place in the starting XI in the recent Premier League outings perfectly underlines this fact. He missed the Champions League fixture, hence it is safe to say that the Spaniard will be named on the team sheet.
Mkhitaryan is having a good season so far. After enduring a difficult tenure last season, the Armenian is back to his best. He has already created 20 goal scoring chances this season and will look to add more to his name.
Mourinho decided to go with Anthony Martial against CSKA and even though the Frenchman performed sublimely well, Mourinho was forced to sub him off as he was carrying a slight injury. Mourinho wouldn’t want to rush Martial into action, and so we can expect Rashford to start.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku
Nine games, ten goals, one Lukaku. The Belgian still has a lot of technical work to do, but remains one of the best Premier League strikers. A sure starter!
