Manchester United v Crystal Palace is Sunday's featured English Premier League match and we have goals markets and goalscorer betting tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace, Sunday 5 December 16:00
Michael Carrick ended his short spell as caretaker at Manchester United on Thursday evening with a 3-2 victory against the Gunners at Old Trafford. He managed to keep a perfect record while in charge and now hands over the reins to Ralf Rangnick. The Red Devils haven’t avoided defeats in back-to-back EPL matches since Solskjaer left the club and they now appear to have some wind back in their sails as they get set to start their journey with the new German manager.
Sunday will be the first of a series of fixtures against lower ranked teams which presents the perfect opportunity for Rangnick to find his feet as manager and for Manchester United to up their points tally. After Thursday’s win they have moved to 7th spot on the table with 21 points and are once again closing in on the Top 4. If Sunday’s clash can spark a series of victories against the likes of Norwich, Burnley and Newcastle in the upcoming weeks then they should be back in contention for a Champions League spot next season in no time. Their match against Arsenal was the first time in four matches that they managed to score more than two goals in a match which suggests that their attack is back on par. Crystal Palace can be a bit of a tricky customer at times though, but if they can bag another convincing win on Sunday and give Rangnick a winning start at the club then they their campaign will very much be back on track.
Crystal Palace were last in action in Leeds on Tuesday night where they missed out on a point thanks to a late goal by the hosts which saw them go down 1-0. The Eagles have now gone three matches without a win and have dropped down to 11th place on the table with 16 points. Up until last Saturday things were not looking too shabby for Patrick Vieira’s men. They managed to pull off some big victories against the likes of Wolves, Manchester City and Tottenham - all by a margin of at least two goals. They also picked up valuable points in draws with West Ham, Arsenal and Leicester. However, their attack seems to have slowed down in the last couple of weeks and the South Londoners don’t seem to be finding the net as often anymore.
Their last two matches have only seen one goal which is worrying considering they managed to score at least two goals in five of their six fixtures before that. Vieira will need to have a good lack at his attack again and figure out what is going wrong because Manchester United are looking like they are back in form right now and you can be sure that they will score a few on Sunday. I don’t see Palace’s defense being able to shut down Manchester United’s attack in this clash and their best chance of staying in the game will be by getting their attack back in order so that they can at least hit back with a few goals of their own and keep the scoreline close.
Surprisingly Manchester United have not dominated the last five EPL fixtures between the two teams. Instead both have won two matches, while the other match ended in a draw. The last time these two teams met was at Selhurst Park in March this year where they played to a goalless draw. Crystal Palace have won their last two matches at Old Trafford, while the last time the Red Devils managed a home victory against Palace was back in 2017. The Eagles certainly have a good record at this ground and you can be sure that they will try to use this to their advantage on Sunday.
Prediction
Manchester United appear to have put their troubles behind them since Solskjaer has left the club and I expect them to shine again in this match. We got to see just how superb their attack can be on Thursday night and I am expecting more of the same against Crystal Palace. Fernandes and Ronaldo seem to be finding their feet again and I expect them to lead the attack again with massive shifts on Sunday. Defense is still a slight worry for the Red Devils which we saw again against Arsenal when they let in two goals, but I believe their attack is more than capable of making up for it.
Although Crystal Palace’s attack has been below par in their last two matches I expect them to take advantage of Manchester United’s average defense and to score at least a goal or two in this match. However, I don’t see their defense being strong enough to stop United’s attack and it should be a comfortable win for the hosts in the end. I’ve decided to stay clear of the match result in this one and instead I will be backing both teams to score and over 2.5 goals in the match. I also like Cristiano Ronaldo to score in the match, but the price for him to score anytime is a bit low for my liking so I will instead have a stab at him to score the first goal of the match since he is playing with a lot of confidence right now.
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