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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Manchester United predicted line-up vs Crystal Palace as Wout Weghorst and Fred start

Manchester United will be going in search of a fourth successive victory in all competitions when they welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

United, who drew 1-1 with Palace at Selhurst Park just over a fortnight ago, will be determined to build on Wednesday evening's 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg victory over Nottingham Forest. Already leading 3-0 from the first leg at the City Ground a week earlier, goals from Anthony Martial and Fred sealed United's place in the final with minimal fuss.

Victory over Forest marked a third successive win in cup competitions for the Reds, meaning they will be determined to carry that form back into the Premier League. They have not played a league fixture since losing 3-2 to Arsenal on January 22.

READ MORE: Marcus Rashford addresses United's progress under Erik ten Hag

Defeat to Arsenal means United head into Saturday's tussle with Patrick Vieira's side without a win in their last two league outings, meaning they will be under pressure to get back to winning ways and stretch their winning run at home to 13 matches. Tottenham Hotspur are currently breathing down their necks in fifth place, just three points behind them.

After Tom Heaton was awarded just his second appearance of the season against Forest in midweek, David de Gea is expected to return in goal. The Spaniard has started every Premier League game since the start of last season and will be looking to record his ninth league clean sheet of the campaign.

Ahead of De Gea, United could deploy the same back-four that started against Forest, meaning Aaron Wan-Bissaka will continue at right-back and start against his former club once again. He should be joined in the defence by Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.

Diogo Dalot has returned to training and is making good progress from a recent hamstring strain, meaning he could be included in the matchday squad for the first time since the 3-0 win over Charlton Athletic on January 10. Ten Hag, however, is likely to refrain from throwing him straight into the starting line-up, meaning he could be named on the bench.

United, of course, could hand a debut to deadline day signing Marcel Sabitzer. He watched the win over Forest from the stands following his arrival from Bayern Munich less than 24 hours earlier.

Although Ten Hag has confirmed that he is available for selection, it seems unlikely that he will be thrown straight into the starting line-up, leaving Fred to fill in for the injured Christian Eriksen. He is expected to start in one of the two deeper midfield roles alongside Casemiro.

Bruno Fernandes, who scored the last time United faced Palace, will spearhead the midfield-three, operating in the attacking-midfield berth.

In attack, Ten Hag will almost certainly restore Marcus Rashford to the starting line-up after he started on the bench against Forest. Antony will be expected to continue on the right wing and could be joined in the front-three by Wout Weghorst, who will operate through the middle, despite Martial stepping off the bench to score in midweek.

United predicted line-up vs Crystal Palace: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes; Antony, Weghorst, Rashford.

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