Manchester United will be looking to move up to second in the Premier League table when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening.
United, who were scheduled to face Palace back in September, just days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, will make the rearranged trip to the capital going in search of a tenth successive win in all competitions. The Reds continued their excellent run of form with a 2-1 derby day win over Manchester City on Saturday, secured thanks to late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
The Reds, who were beaten 1-0 by Palace on the final day of last season, will move above City in the table with another three-point haul. A draw, though, would only move them up to third place, such is the Blues' far superior goal difference.
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Manager Erik ten Hag made some bold selection calls against City at the weekend, handing surprise starting berths to the likes of Tyrell Malacia and Fred. However, in an effort to manage United's demanding fixture schedule, the Dutchman is likely to make tweaks once again against Palace.
David de Gea, though, is a certain starter between the sticks and is expected to continue his run of starting every Premier League game since the beginning of last season. He has registered eight clean sheets in the league so far this term and will be determined to add to his tally after his run of three successive league shutouts was ended against City.
Ahead of De Gea, Ten Hag could make one change to his back-four, recalling Lisandro Martinez to the fold after he was left on the bench at the weekend in a surprise move. The prospect of him returning to the side could mean that Luke Shaw returns to his natural left-back berth at the expense of Malacia.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is expected to start again at right-back against his former club in the absence of Diogo Dalot. The latter was forced off with a muscular problem in the Carabao Cup win over Charlton Athletic last Tuesday and could miss out once again.
In midfield, Ten Hag could revert back to his preferred trio of Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Fernandes. Fred started alongside Eriksen and Casemiro in the engine room against City to give the Reds some extra energy and protection, forcing Fernandes to start on the right-wing. The Portuguese international could reclaim the No.10 berth.
That means that Antony could be recalled to the starting line-up at Fred's expense and start on the right-wing. He started on the bench against City but came on at the break to replace the struggling Anthony Martial.
Martial had been struggling with another injury problem ahead of the all-Manchester showdown and was withdrawn at the break to avoid aggravating it further. Wout Weghorst is in contention earn his debut and start, but Ten Hag may prefer to introduce him from the bench and ease him into his new surroundings slowly.
If that is the case, Rashford could start through the middle, paving the way for Alejandro Garnacho to start on the left-wing. Weghorst could appear from the bench in the second half.
United predicted line-up vs Crystal Palace: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen, Fernandes; Antony, Rashford, Garnacho.
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