Crystal Palace v Manchester United: Eagles can fly against depleted visitors

Crystal Palace 3.25 v Manchester United 2.42; The Draw 3.50
Wednesday 27 February, 20:00

Palace find clinical touch

Crystal Palace have put together a run of form that now sees them looking towards the top half of the Premier League, rather than back at the relegation zone.

The 4-1 win at Leicester on Saturday evening stretched Palace's unbeaten record to six games (W4 D2). Now 13th in the Premier League, they are only four points behind tenth placed Bournemouth and six points clear of the relegation zone.

A big problem for Roy Hodgson's team this season has been a lack of options in attack, leaving Palace as a side that were not as clinical as they might be. The signing of Michy Batshuayi on loan and the return of Christian Benteke after injury has bolstered Hodgson's options up front and the improvement was clear to see against Leicester, as the side scored four goals from just seven shots.

Though Crystal Palace's issues up front have eased, they still have a number of players unavailable. Martin Kelly, Pape Souare, Julian Speroni and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all out injured, while Mamadou Sakho is a doubt.

Injuries making life tough for Solskjaer

If Crystal Palace have what might be termed as 'injury problems', Manchester United are reaching more of a crisis point.

In the 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Sunday, the team saw Ander Herrerra, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard all go off in the first-half. Marcus Rashford was another player to receive a knock, but struggled on, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was unable to make any more substitutions.

As well as Solskjaer has done since becoming manager of United, he may have done even better if he had not suffered injuries in the drawn match against Liverpool and the defeat to PSG, which essentially ruined any pre-match game plan. The game against Crystal Palace has now also become harder, with several players likely to be missing for the trip to London.

Nemanja Matic is definitely out with a muscle injury. Also in doubt for Wednesday's match are Matteo Darmian, Herrera, Lingard, Anthony Martial, Mata, Rashford, Marcos Rojo and Antonio Valencia.

Palace can claim point against depleted visitors

Manchester United are the 2.42 favourites, with Crystal Palace at 3.25 and the draw at 3.50.

United would be a shorter price if it were not for their injury woes. Rashford seems unlikely to play, leaving Solskjaer without much option but to play Romelu Lukaku in attack, at a time when the Belgian has not scored since January.

Palace could well take advantage to claim a point. The two sides drew at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture and with the south Londonders having been involved in some highly competitive games against the top six this season, the draw should come into play as a trading option at the very least.

Goals from both teams

Crystal Palace have now scored in ten consecutive matches, so it's no surprise to see that both teams to score is as short as 1.67.

It's a bet that should land, even if the odds are a little slim. Five of Palace's last six Premier League games have seen both teams find the net, while United have not drawn consecutive blanks all season.

Pogba well priced to continue scoring streak

Despite his lack of form, Lukaku is attractively priced at 3.00 to find the net. With so many attacking players missing for Manchester United, Paul Pogba also looks good value at 3.30. The World Cup winner has scored three goals in his last four games.

Wilfried Zaha is the favourite to score for Palace after netting a brace against Leicester. Batshuayi also scored in that match and is 3.60 to find the net.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Back Crystal Palace and Manchester United to both score at 1.67

Back Pogba to score at 3.30