Manchester United host Crystal Palace on Saturday, hoping to keep up their brilliant form so far this season. United sit joint top of the Premier League table, while Palace sit rock bottom after losing all their games and not scoring a single goal.
New manager Roy Hodgson has a huge task on his hands in order to keep Palace up this season, and Old Trafford is certainly not the place to go if you are in need of a win. United have scored 17 goals so far this campaign, conceding two – both of which against Stoke City in their 2-2 draw at the Bet365 stadium.
Mourinho’s men could be at a slight disadvantage though, with them playing in the Champions League on Wednesday night in Moscow. The Red Devils could find that they are fatigued from travel and playing time, whereas Palace will have had almost a full weeks break.
United almost top the Premier League injury list, with a flurry of new casualties in Mourinho’s side.
Paul Pogba remains out with a hamstring injury, while fellow midfielders Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are two of the latest stars to find themselves unavailable.
Long-term absentees Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo remain out of action, and the Reds could be without Anthony Martial and Phil Jones too after the pair have reportedly sustained knocks during the week.
Hodgson will be without forward Christian Benteke who has been ruled out for six weeks, and Conor Wickham. Former United winger Wilfried Zaha is also unavailable.
Manchester United have never lost a Premier League game against Crystal Palace in 16 previous meetings (W13 D3 L0), they have managed to win 10 consecutive home top-flight matches against Crystal Palace, conceding just two goals in that time – both in the same game.
Palace are the first team in England’s top four tiers to lose their first six games of the season without scoring a single goal. They are the only team in Europe’s top five leagues yet to score a goal in the league so far this season.
Romelu Lukaku has been in fine scoring form for United, scoring 10 goals in his first 9 appearances for Mourinho. He has scored 19 goals in his last 21 Premier League appearances – and Crystal Palace in comparison have scored 18 goals in their last 21 Premier League matches.
Predicted XI
De Gea
Valencia – Bailly – Smalling – Blind
Herrera – Matic – Mata
Mkhitaryan – Lukaku – Rashford