Key events
9 min Mount does well to win the ball back on the left, before Garnacho does less well with a sloppy cross.
8 min Onana gets yet another kick wrong. Palace help him out by failing to keep the ball in.
6 min Mount is looking sharp. He’s looking for a through ball now from Kobbie Mainoo, who overhits it.
5 min Another Onana kick goes awry, but United escape and Diogo Dalot, on the right tonight, goes flying down the wing. Eventually the ball ends up back with Onana.
4 min André Onana gives the ball to Palace and is relieved to find they give it straight back.
3 min Now the home fans think Evans has conceded a penalty, as Tyrick Mitchell goes down, but the ref (and his cam) are having none of it.
2 min Palace get forward smoothly and Jonny Evans, after making a clearance, concedes a corner.
1 min Palace kick off and go back to Dean Henderson.
The teams march out, led by Joachim Andersen and Casemiro. Palace are in their usual red and blue, United all in cream. A camera sidles up to Mason Mount, who responds with a smile.
One of Erik ten Hag’s bigger headaches, just behind the state of his defence, is the state of his attack. Fernandes has been his only reliable goalscorer lately, while Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay have got a few too. Without those three, who’s going to find the net? Antony, maybe, on the principle of London buses. Mount, conceivably – he nicked one at Brentford not long ago. But it feels as if Rasmus Højlund and Alejandro Garnacho will have to raise their game.
“How the tables are turned,” says Rupak Pramanik. “A few months ago Sofyan Amrabat was in high demand, he joined United quite dramatically on the last day of the transfer window. Now he doesn’t get a start despite so many injuries in the squad. Have Ten Hag’s choices in transfer business cost United dearly?”
An email! “Ref cam, ref cam,” says Ruth Purdue, “we need to discuss ref cam. They should play it live alongside the game. It may do some good!”
A PL debut for RefCam
The referee, Jarred Gillett, may be secretly relieved not to have Fernandes in his ear. But he will have something else: a camera.
For the first time, a Premier League ref will wear a video camera, which has inevitably been dubbed RefCam. Its pictures won’t be used in the live broadcast – they will appear later in a programme from Premier League Productions. The question is, will it make the players treat the ref more politely?
No, no, no …
Erik ten Hag has had a horrible run of injuries this season. Tonight United have no Maguire, no Varane, no Martinez, no Shaw, no Fernandes, no McTominay, no Rashford … and no chance?
Teams in full
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1) Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Richards; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Olise, Eze; Mateta.
Subs: Matthews, Ward, Guéhi, Riedewald, Ahamada, Schlupp, Rak-Sakyi, Ayew, Edouard.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1) Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Evans, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Antony, Mount, Garnacho; Højlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Heaton, Ogunneye, Jackson, Amass, Amrabat, Collyer, Amad, Wheatley.
Referee Jarred Gillett.
Teams in brief: Eze is back
To add to the bad news for United, Eberechi Eze returns for Palace, replacing Jordan Ayew. And Marc Guéhi is fit enough to make the bench.
Teams in brief: no Fernandes
Yes, Bruno Fernandes finally misses a United game through injury. So the door opens for Mason Mount, who makes his first start for ages. And United will be captained by Casemiro, who continues as a makeshift centre-back.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to the 415th episode in a long-running soap opera. Yes, it’s United After Fergie, now in its 11th year, still drawing big audiences, springing surprises with its plot twists, and bringing delight to supporters of every English football club except one – Manchester United.
Recent episodes have left the main character, Erik ten Hag, in a tight corner. His players keep snatching a draw from the jaws of victory. Tonight we will discover if they can win a match in London for the first time since Bonfire Night.
United’s season, long since a disappointment, is now threatening to turn into a disaster. A month ago they were a shoo-in for sixth and a place in the Europa League, which is about their level these days. But then they wobbled, and Newcastle and Chelsea both found form, and suddenly United find themselves eighth. If they stay there, they won’t make it into Europe at all, unless they beat Man City in the FA Cup Final – which would only happen once in a blue moon.
The fixture list is not helping Ten Hag to keep his job. United’s least daunting assignment is probably this one, and it’s not as if a game under lights at Selhurst Park is ever easy. Their hosts, meanwhile, have no dramas. After taking a few weeks to click with their new manager, Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace went on a storming run in April, beating Liverpool, West Ham and Newcastle. They were less impressive at Fulham last weekend, but still came up with a late equaliser.
Palace’s recent record, three wins and a draw, is the one United ought to have, when in fact they three draws and a win. If you go by points per game in the Premier League since 12 April, Palace (with 2.5) are second only to Man City (3). And they beat United in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, just after losing there in the League Cup with a less than full-strength XI.
Ten Hag, so commanding last season, is now the hapless boss of a team who have no idea how to hang onto a lead. And he appears to have no idea how to fix that. At least he acknowledges that the problem exists, unlike their other glaring weakness, the way that the midfield often has a great big hole in it. Palace’s new star, Adam Wharton, must be looking forward to meeting them.
To make matters even worse for United, Harry Maguire is injured and the Manchester Evening News is reporting that Bruno Fernandes, who has a broken wrist, has not travelled either. If this is right, it will be the first time Fernandes has ever missed a United game through injury.
Kick-off is at 8pm local time and I’ll be back soon with the teams.
