Manchester United will travel to Selhurst Park to face off against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night. The Red Devils have done well over the past few weeks, but their rapid progress was halted during the defeat against Paris-Saint Germain earlier this month.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær is expected to go with the 4-3-3 formation and might be forced into making a few changes to his midfield this week.
4-3-3 Manchester United Predicted Lineup To Face Crystal Palace
Defence
David De Gea is a nailed-on starter in between the sticks for the away side after he managed to keep a comfortable clean sheet against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday. He can expect a difficult outing while up against an unpredictable Palace attack comprised of Wilfried Zaha, Michy Batshuayi and Andros Townsend.
The defensive duo of Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof did well to cope with the threat of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane last weekend so they should start together once again at the heart of Solskjær’s backline. Marcos Rojo is a significant doubt for this contest along with Matteo Darmian.
Ashley Young will line up as the right-back once again while Luke Shaw resumes his full-back responsibilities down the left flank as he hopes to be more productive going forward. It will be a difficult match for the Red Devils defence as the pacey Palace forwards could stretch them on the counter. Thus, anything other than a solid defensive performance could see them drop points at Selhurst Park in midweek.
Midfield
Solskjær’s side were dealt a hammer blow last weekend as both Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera got injured which might keep them out of this match. Even Jesse Lingard is facing a spell on the sidelines which has piled even more pressure on the Red Devils.
Hence, the away side might choose to go with the midfield trio of Andreas Pereira, Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba. All three of them gave a good account of themselves against Liverpool, so they might have enough in their locker to establish dominance at the centre of the park.
Attack
The Man United frontline will see the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Martial operate as the wingers while Romelu Lukaku spearheads Solkjaer’s attack up front. Both Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford are significant doubts for this upcoming league clash as Solskjær try to figure out a way to cope with his team’s growing list of injuries.
Hence, it is increasingly vital for Lukaku to give a positive impression of himself in the absence of Rashford.