Important events
Erik ten Hag’s other surprise comes in midfield. Manuel Ugarte, who started midweek, will have to wait for his first league appearance as Christian Eriksen retains his place. Eriksen was at his best as No.10 on Tuesday, but when he started alongside Kobbie Mainoo he had a pretty shaky record – 3 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses. And one of those losses was at Selhurst Park in May.
The teams in detail
Crystal Palace (probably 4-3-1-2) Henderson; Munoz, Richards, Guéhi, Lacroix; Mitchell, Wharton, Kamada; Eze; Nketiah, Mateta.
Substitutes: Turner, Ward, Clyne, Hughes, Schlupp, Lerma, Agbinone, Sarr, Umeh-Chibueze.
Manchester United (probably 4-2-3-1) Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Amad, Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Maguire, Evans, Ugarte, Casemiro, Mount, Antony, Hojlund, Rashford.
referee David Coote.
Teams at a glance: Wharton back for Palace
No surprises from Oliver Glasner: Adam Wharton, who was so impressive in Palace’s comeback last season, returns to the starting line-up after a night off against QPR. Eddie Nketiah, who once almost single-handedly beat United for Arsenal, starts up front alongside Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Teams at a glance: Rashford on the bench!
Well, that’s a surprise. Marcus Rashford, who has scored three goals in his last game and a half, is benched. Amad returns on the right, Alejandro Garnacho keeps his place on the left after being involved in four of the seven goals against Barnsley, and Joshua Zirkzee is back as number 9 and one-and-a-half. Perhaps Rashford has a niggle or perhaps that’s why Erik ten Hag talked about him needing to be robust.
The better news for United fans is that Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund are both fit enough to start on the bench, making for a heavyweight bench overall.
preamble
Good day everyone and welcome to an exciting second leg. Five months ago, Manchester United played at Selhurst Park and lost 4-0. It was their lowest point of last season, which is saying something. For Oliver Glasner’s Palace, it was part of a golden end to the 2023/24 season – six wins in their last seven games, including one at Anfield.
Teams that finish one season strong should start the next one strong, but Palace have proved to be an exception to that rule. Michael Olise has moved to Munich and seems to have taken their attacking talent with him (he scored two goals today). His old mates have not won any of their first four league games and in the table this morning they were level with two of the promoted teams, Leicester and Ipswich. But Palace are usually hard to beat at home, and that is even more true on the evening when the home fans make their presence felt.
United recovered well from that May humiliation, beating Newcastle and Brighton and then somehow stealing the FA Cup from Man City. But this season they have been as mixed as ever – losing at Brighton, being humiliated at home by Liverpool and unconvincing at Southampton until André Onana saved a penalty. Since that ‘sliding doors’ moment they have scored ten goals and conceded none, Marcus Rashford scored three to suddenly be back to his old self and fans dare to hope that Erik ten Hag’s underperforming side have finally turned the corner. Tonight will tell.
