When Manchester united face Crystal Palace today will be at their weakest form this season and when you consider their performance when they were even better propped, then this match might even be calamitous than the previous ones. Louis van Gaal will be relying on a midfielder who made his first appearance in six months only last week to partner a younger, inexperienced player at the central defence. His left full back is unavailable and will be replaced by a winger who has now been whipped into the shape of a full-back.
Upfront, he will be missing the services of Radamel Falcao and could also have to drop Robin van Persie who in recent times has been suffering from a serious dip in form. Amidst all this worries, there are still about 4 reasons why the Red Devils will come out of the match with the maximum three points.
One of such reasons is the resolute nature of the team. They know they are in a bad shape but have resolved to burn their way through if need be. With the way they forced a draw against Chelsea and also made sure that Manchester City didn’t get more than a goal in the recent derby despite the fact that the Red Devils were low on personnel, it is quite obvious that just when you feel you have seen the last of Louis van Gaal’s men, they just muster up the energy to prove you wrong. Similarly, with their level of depletion, it will not be surprising that the Red Devils will go into today’s match, playing like they have four Cristiano Ronaldo’s in their team.
Another reason is the fact that the Manchester United midfield will have little test to face against their rivals and if Louis van Gaal decides to start Daley Blind behind Marouane Fellaini, then the physical presence and quality that both of them can provide will be strong enough to win possession and connect their attackers. Since Daley Blind will likely have less work to do, it will also be easier to provide the required shield for the defence.
More so, Angel Di Maria who was very uninspiring during the derby will need to prove that his influential play is not waning in the team. He was fantastic against the Queens Park Rangers a while back and now faces almost the same level of opposition against Crystal Palace, hence, similar if not more of such display is expected from the Argentine. Luke Shaw is expected to surge forward and tee up with him and if they get their moves right, the strikers should get a constant feed for large periods during the game.
Another propelling force that the Red Devils will have is the fact that with the level of criticisms that Robin van Persie has come under, if the manager still decides to start him, the Dutchman will need to do a lot to impress the fans who by now are tired of his frustrating displays. However, if Louis van Gaal fields James Wilson instead, then the youngster will channel all his poise and drive to ensure that he doesn’t disappoint the fans that have been clamouring for his inclusion in the starting line-up.