All you need to know before Palace v United

It's the second trip to the capital in just over 72 hours for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, after United and Chelsea fought out a goalless draw on Sunday.

Wednesday’s hosts ran out 3-1 winners at Old Trafford in our season premiere. The opening match was Donny van de Beek’s United debut and the Dutch midfielder marked the occasion by scoring on his first appearance at the Theatre of Dreams, although it would only turn out to be a consolation for the Reds.

Here's all you need to know ahead of the reverse fixture...

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE GAME?

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK. The match kicks off at 20:15 GMT. You can follow the game in our Official App as well as watch our pre-match, half-time and post-match shows live on MUTV. The Match Day Live programme starts at 19:10 GMT on Wednesday evening.

TEAM NEWS

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope to have Edinson Cavani available for selection in south London in midweek, with the Uruguayan striker having missed four games with a muscle injury. Scott McTominay made a return to the Norwegian’s starting line-up against Chelsea, while van de Beek was an unused substitute on Sunday. Paul Pogba and Phil Jones remain sidelined.

For the hosts, ex-Red Wilfried Zaha has missed the last four games with a thigh injury and Roy Hodgson suggested it was unlikely he'd return to face his former club. Hodgson also has injuries in defence, as Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins have both been unavailable for over a month. In midfield, Jeffrey Schlupp is struggling with a hamstring injury, while James McArthur is recovering from a knock.

FORM GUIDE

The Reds were unbeaten in February and progressed to the Europa League round-of-16, where we'll meet Italian giants AC Milan. In the Premier League, United have won two and drawn three of the last five, a run which includes the 9-0 hammering of Southampton and a convincing 3-1 victory over Newcastle. The 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge made sure our streak of matches unbeaten away from home in the league has now reached 20 games, which is the joint-fifth highest run in English top-flight history.

Wednesday's hosts have won twice, drawn once and lost twice in their last five games leading up to the encounter with Ole's men. However, the Eagles have failed to score in their last two home games, after a three-goal defeat to Burnley was followed up with a 0-0 draw against relegation candidates Fulham.

HEAD TO HEAD

As mentioned, the Eagles beat United in the Premier League opener but at Selhurst Park, the Reds have the upper hand against the London outfit. In fact, we've never lost at the ground while playing Palace in the Premier League era (Wimbledon also used it as their home between 1991 and 2003). In the 12 encounters in Croydon since the last defeat to Palace, in 1991, United have won nine and drawn three, including a valuable 2-0 win in July 2020, courtesy of goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Eberechi Eze has been in fine form for Crystal Palace this season after his summer move from London rivals Queens Park Rangers. The attacking midfielder has featured in 26 matches for the Eagles, the most of any player in Hodgson’s squad. As well as showcasing his dribbling talents, the 22-year-old has provided three goals and three assists.

With Zaha potentially unavailable, the hosts will look to Belgian frontman Christian Benteke to score the goals. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa man netted a last-gasp winner in Palace’s win at Brighton & Hove Albion and will hope to increase his season's tally of four when United come to town.

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: Andre Marriner
Assistant referees: Scott Ledger and Marc Perry
Fourth official: Kevin Friend
VAR: Mike Dean
Assistant VAR: Stephen Child

WHO ELSE IS IN ACTION?

There are seven midweek games in the Premier League and here's how the full schedule looks...

TUESDAY 2 MARCH

Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers (20:00 GMT)

WEDNESDAY 3 MARCH

Sheffield United v Aston Villa (18:00 GMT)
Burnley v Leicester City (18:00 GMT)
Crystal Palace v UNITED (20:15 GMT)

THURSDAY 4 MARCH

West Bromwich Albion v Everton (18:00 GMT)
Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur (18:00 GMT)
Liverpool v Chelsea (20:15 GMT)