Crystal Palace v Manchester Utd: Premier League betting preview, free tip & TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Crystal Palace v Manchester United in the Premier League on Thursday.

Where to watch

Live on BT Sport 1, 8.15pm Thursday

Best bet

Manchester United-Manchester United double result
2pts Evens BoyleSports

Team news

Crystal Palace
Christian Benteke is suspended so Jordan Ayew should start up front. Gary Cahill (hamstring) is unlikely to feature.

Manchester United
Luke Shaw is doubtful after sustaining an ankle injury against Southampton on Monday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may make changes after picking the same starting 11 for the last five games.

Match preview

Manchester United's winning run was brought to an end by a dramatic late equaliser from Southampton's Michael Obafemi on Monday but the Red Devils are expected to bounce back at Crystal Palace.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side may have run out of puff towards the end of their clash with Saints, having started with the same 11 in their last five Premier League matches.

After a 1-1 draw at Tottenham, that line-up swept aside Sheffield United, Brighton and Aston Villa, all by 3-0 margins, and thumped Bournemouth 5-2 at Old Trafford.

If Solskjaer decides to freshen things up it is unlikely to disrupt United's rhythm too much.

Scott McTominay and Fred are excellent midfield understudies while Daniel James, who scored when Palace shocked the Red Devils 2-1 in August's reverse fixture, could give the in-form Mason Greenwood a breather.

After Manchester City's ban from the Champions League was overturned on Monday, the two dropped points against Southampton will have hurt United even more.

But Leicester, whose final three games are against Sheffield United, Tottenham and Solskjaer's men, are faltering so a top-four finish is still well within United's scope.

They have been well backed for the trip to Selhurst Park and that market confidence is understandable given Palace's poor post-lockdown form.

A hat-trick of 1-0 wins over Newcastle, Brighton and Watford just before the season was suspended in March effectively secured the Eagles' top-flight status and they beat struggling Bournemouth 2-0 in their first game after the restart.

However, they have lost their next five matches, failing to score in defeats to Liverpool, Burnley, Leicester and, last weekend, relegation-threatened Aston Villa.

Palace found the net twice in their 3-2 home loss to Chelsea but they were up against it after going 2-0 down inside 27 minutes and it could be a similar story against fast-starting United.

Solskjaer's side have been leading at half-time in 15 of their 16 Premier League victories this season. They were not exactly sluggish in the only exception as Marcus Rashford gave them a sixth-minute lead at home to Tottenham before Dele Alli equalised in the 39th minute.

The odds on the visitors to be leading at half-time and full-time in the double-result market look tempting given United's positive approach during their assault on the top four.

They have scored 11 first-half goals in their last five league matches and, after conceding a 12th-minute opener against Southampton on Monday, they were in front just over ten minutes later thanks to goals from the red-hot Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

Palace themselves have scored only ten first-half goals in 35 games this term and their injury-depleted defence may struggle to hold out for long against United's inspired forwards.

Key stat

Only one of Manchester United's last 16 Premier League games has been goalless at half-time.

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