Saturday Premier League Preview and Odds – Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Saturday 30 September, 2017 15:00pm
Old Trafford
Recent form (League)
Manchester United: WWDWW
Crystal Palace: LLLLL
Manchester United will look to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven games when they host a Crystal Palace side desperate to halt their own six-game losing streak.
The Red Devils have enjoyed a bright start to the season in all competitions and come into this game on the back of a 4-1 Champions League away win over CSKA Moscow in midweek. Once again, it was Romelu Lukaku who grabbed the headlines with another two goals to take his overall tally to 10 for the season.
The only black marks on Jose Mourinho’s men’s record this season have been the 2-2 draw at Stoke City and the UEFA Super Cup reverse to Real Madrid, otherwise it has been a satisfactory start to the campaign for the northwest side who are currently sat second in the table on goal difference behind their city rivals.
With the help of Lukaku, United are scoring at a rate of just under three goals per game and that will be a worry for this weekend’s visitors who have yet to pick up a single point this season.
Crystal Palace fans may have been fearing another relegation scrap this term but they could never have imagined that they would start their campaign so badly. New boss Roy Hodgson has presided over two defeats since his arrival extending their losing streak to six in total this term.
On the first of two consecutive trips to Manchester last weekend, the Eagles were thrashed 5-0 by Pep Guardiola’s title contenders and must now return to face the 20-time former league champions. And with Chelsea to come next, there is a strong chance that Hodgson will equal Frank de Boer’s record of four-straight league defeats, a run that saw him lose his job.
Amazingly, Palace have not even scored a league goal this season, so even if they could find the net, it would count as positive progress. With a goal difference of -13 they are effectively five points from safety with just six games played. The former England boss will have to use all of his experience if he is going to keep the London club in the division.
Prediction
Roy Hodgson is likely to set up his side to limit the damage this weekend, so an upset is unlikely. Manchester United are averaging around three goals per game, so the 3-0 correct score might tempt some at 11/2. Such bets could be hedged slightly with a small stake on a correct score of 4-0 at a generous 10/1. The less adventurous might want to stick to Over 2.5 Goals at 4/7.
You can back Under 2.5 Goals at 4/7, a correct score of 3-0 at 11/2 and a correct score of 4-0 at 10/1 – all with Betfair.