Crystal Palace have not been at their best this season but they will be hoping to perverse their status with the few games left to play. Meanwhile, Manchester United have struggled for large parts of the season, failing to get any sort of forward momentum and their inconsistency has forced them to lose out in the race for European places for next season.

In terms of transfers, Crystal Palace let go of the likes of Luka Milivojevic, Jack Butland, Wilfred Zaha, and Vicente Guaita who left for Shabab Al-Ahli, Rangers, Galatasaray, and Celta de Vigo respectively on free transfers while Malcom Ebiowei and Luke Plange sealed loan moves to RWDM and Carlisle United respectively.

Crystal Palace have looked out of sorts so far in the Premier League this season. The league campaign is in its latter stages and the Eagles are yet to take off form-wise. Palace are in 14th place on the Premier League table with 30 points from 31 games, recording 7 wins, 9 draws, and 15 losses at the time of writing. They have scored 36 times this season, the second lowest by teams outside relegation waters and they have let in 55 goals, bringing their goal deficit to -18.

The Eagles brought in Oliver Glasner in place of Roy Hodgson but results have not been decent. Palace have won just a game since he arrived at the club and with a relegation fight looming, they need every possible point. Crystal Palace are one of the sides based in London and with nothing guaranteed for them just yet. Since the turn of the year, they have only won two games and they are just hanging out until the end of the season. 

As for Manchester United, the Red Devils have had a roller-coaster campaign under Coach Erik Ten Hag, and at some point, it has been comical. Harry Maguire, who was one of the worst players at the club last season has become one of the best players. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford, who was the main man in attack has dropped form so much that youngster Alejandro Garnacho has taken over his place in the starting eleven.

Manchester United’s disappointing campaign started with their transfer decisions. Following the departures of Elanga, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly, and Mason Greenwood, Manchester United made strategic additions to their squad, welcoming Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Sofyan Amrabat, Johnny Evans, and Sergio Reguillon.

Their poor transfer decisions have haunted them this season, and that has seen them lose embarrassingly to teams like Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Brighton. The smaller teams have also had their bite of the cherry, with Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth. Onana has been a shadow of the goalkeeper he was at Inter Milan, making some mistakes which have cost the club.

Nonetheless, the Red Devils have also picked up a few decent results, beating Chelsea 2-1 and thrashing Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park before a goalless draw at Anfield with Liverpool. Apart from that, they dropped out of the UEFA Champions League, and lost to Forest and West Ham on the road. United sit just outside the top 5 and a run of fine results could propel them to greater heights before the season comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Andre Onana has improved greatly since the AFCON ended but he has been left to face so many shots, hence, conceding goals has become a usual thing. United have reached the FA Cup semifinals but their performances in the league have been short of consistency and that is why they might not be playing in the Champions League next season. As of the time of writing, the Manchester side have 49 points from 31 games and 11 points adrift of the final Champions League spot.

Head-to-head statistics tell us that Crystal Palace and Manchester United have locked horns on 17 occasions in the past. The Eagles have won 4 (scoring 14 goals) while The Red Devils have 10 (scoring 28 goals) with 3 draws between them.

Match tickets

The epic match at Selhurst Park in South London kicks off on Monday, 6th of May 2024 at 20:00 GMT.

The 25,486-capacity stadium will host this clash between two teams at different ends of the table with precious three points at stake.

Getting Crystal Palace vs Manchester United tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

The Eagles have a long list of injured players including Sam Johnstone (Elbow), Marc Guehi (knee), and Rob Holding (ankle) are expected to miss the visit of the Red Devils. Christopher Richards (Knee), and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (hamstring) could feature if they recover from their respective injuries on time.

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Ward, Andersen, Richards, Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell, Ayew, Eze, Mateta

Manchester United have battled a lot of injuries all season and they might just have several players missing once again. Tyrell Malacia is not expected to feature again this season, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, and Victor Lindelof are also not expected to feature. While Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Raphael Varane should be fine and available for this trip

Manchester United XI: Andre Onana; Harry Maguire, Johnny Evans, Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Bruno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, Kobbie Mainoo; Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford.

Prediction

Crystal Palace plays in a low block, looking to neutralize attacking threats from opposing teams. In possession, they build up from the back and look to make the most of their time on the ball. Meanwhile, United have been open at the back a lot and that might offer the hosts a chance in this game. 

However, Manchester United might just show enough character and win this particular contest.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United