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Crystal Palace host Manchester United at Selhurst Park on Wednesday and the the home side will be hoping to inflict another shock result on a big six team – BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson thinks that they will be able to do just that.
What did he say?
Summarising his predictions for the midweek Premier League clashes, the former Liverpool defender said:
“United’s injury problems from their draw with Liverpool weekend are going to affect the team that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can put out in this one.
“He dealt very well with what happened, but the game itself was very poor and Liverpool did not pose much of a threat.
“I just have a feeling that Palace will be different, and that they are going to surprise people here. They are playing well and they going to go for it attack-wise too.
“Michy Batshuayi is up and running after scoring against Leicester on Saturday, Wilfried Zaha is back from suspension, and I think they will cause United problems.”
High praise for Palace
Liverpool’s front three is regarded as one of the most dangerous in Europe but they have admittedly gone off the boil in recent weeks, with stalemates against United and Bayern Munich showcasing some extremely poor finishing. Lawrenson, though, thinks that Roy Hodgson’s side will have no such problems breaking down the former.
Zaha is back to his sparkling best and has now scored four goals in his last three games, while January signing Batshuayi netted his first – admittedly a fortuitous one – in red and blue against Leicester at the weekend.
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A 3-2 win over Manchester City in December showed that the Selhurst Park outfit have the quality in all areas of the pitch to upset the bookies but a win over United, who have been rejuvenated since Jose Mourinho’s departure, would be almost as impressive as their victory over the Premier League champions just after Christmas.