Crystal Palace are really struggling at the moment with just one win since the 6th of November. They have lost three of their four in the league since the break and did not score in any of those three losses. At home they have scored just 10 goals in nine games, which is amongst the lowest in the league and have lost each of their last three there. Crystal Palace fans can feel a little unfortunate that they have lost some of these games, having amassed 1.95 expected goals in their last two league games without finding the back of the net but they are also very open at the back. They have conceded at least one expected goal to four of their last five opponents – the anomaly being Bournemouth – and are conceding plenty of chances which Manchester United’s strike force can punish. They will also be without Andersen at the back who will likely be replaced by James Tompkins, a big loss for the Eagles.

Manchester United fans are experiencing completely different feelings to Palace ones at the moment. There is plenty of optimism for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson left ten years ago and there is a belief that they are on their way back to challenging for league titles following years of their two main rivals – Manchester City and Liverpool – finishing above them. Marcus Rashford is on an incredible run of form, scoring in every game since the return of football and they are winning comfortably most weeks. In total since the break they have scored 17 goals and conceded just two – one of which was a de Gea blunder. One of the things United fans can be most optimistic about is that they have deserved these results. They beat Manchester City 1.67-0.67 on expected goals and this ended a run of four straight league games where they had at least two expected goals for – with a total of 10.19 expected goals in this time. They will be full of optimism and belief and will be targeting a win so that they can go into the weekend’s game against Arsenal in a confident mood that they can beat the Gunners.

Other than Cristiano Ronaldo, who is no longer at the club, Antony has taken the most shots per game in a Manchester United shirt this season. He averages 3.53 shots per 90 minutes and this is no surprise in comparison to his Ajax numbers, where he had 4.50, 4.12 and 3.01 shots per game in his three seasons before leaving the Netherlands. Domestically in his starts for Manchester United he has taken 33 shots in 10 games and has had at least three in six of those. He has also had 15 shots on target in that time and was dropped on Saturday for the big game in favour of Anthony Martial, who he should replace here. The Brazilian will want to make an impact upon Ten Hag and prove to his manager that he should have started that game. Last time out at Stamford Bridge, Crystal Palace conceded three shots to Chelsea right winger Hakim Ziyech, one of which was on target.

Crystal Palace games this season have seen an average of 4.44 cards per game, with four or more cards being shown on 61% of occasions. They themselves have seen at least one card per game and have drawn at least one in all but one of their league fixtures. At home, they have seen at least two cards in 56% of matches and at least three in 44% of matches, drawing at least two in six of their nine at Selhurst Park. Manchester United have seen an average of 3.78 cards in their games this season, receiving 2.56. Away from home, this selection has landed 56% of times and they have been shown at least three cards in 78% of their games. Whilst they have not drawn too many cards, Crystal Palace’s high card count should counteract this as they try and disrupt the high-flying Red Devils.

The referee for this game is Robert Jones. This season in the Premier League he has shown an average of 3.75 cards per game, showing at least four cards in 58% of his games. Each of his last four matches in all competitions have seen four bookings shown. Last season, across the two games between Palace and United, ten cards were shown, and this selection landed on both occasions. At Selhurst Park, six cautions were handed out.