Ralf Rangnick will finally be overseeing things from the Old Trafford dug-out for Manchester United when Crystal Palace come to town.
After work-permit issues prevented him from taking charge of either of Manchester United’s 1-1 draw away at Chelsea or the 3-2 victory at home to Arsenal, the 63-year-old German makes his United bow against Patrick Vieira’s Eagles.
Thanks to the fine work of Rangnick’s interim predecessor Michael Carrick, United are in a relatively decent vein of form and morale is drastically higher than it was a month ago.
They welcome a Palace side who have already taken one scalp in Manchester so far this season, Vieira guiding his side to a memorable 2-0 victory over reigning champions and United’s ‘noisy neighbours’ Man City.
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United’s win over Arsenal marked their first home Premier League victory in nearly three months, while Bruno Fernandes ‘ equaliser on the night was the Red Devils first league goal at the Theatre of Dreams since early October.
In turn, Rangnick may look to keep many of his selections the same to prevent any kind of loss of momentum as he aims to launch a charge for a top-four finish.
David de Gea will undoubtedly keep his place between the sticks, though a penny for the thoughts of Rangnick watching on from the terraces as the Spaniard lay stricken on the floor as Emile Smith Rowe put Arsenal in front on Thursday.
Much maligned club captain Harry Maguire is expected to keep his place in the centre of United’s defence, as is Victor Lindelof who will partner the skipper in Raphael Varane’s absence.
While Luke Shaw is expected to return at left-back in place of Alex Telles, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s spell out of the side could continue as Diogo Dalot delivered an impressive performance up against Arsenal’s young attackers.
The midfield pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred has had its critics this term, but the duo did a job on their Gunners counterparts.
With that being said, it is likely that only one of them keeps their place for the visit of Crystal Palace as Rangnick could seek to revive Donny van de Beek’s faltering United career.
Clearly deemed surplus to requirements by Solskjaer, the Dutchman has had limited opportunities to impress since making a £40m move to Manchester last year.
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Jadon Sancho appears to have finally found some form in a United shirt after a lengthy spell without a goal or assist at the beginning of his time at the club and can expect to keep his place in the starting eleven.
Fernandes is one of the few mainstays in this United side and that is unlikely to change under Rangnick.
Much has been made of whether Cristiano Ronaldo can play under a manager as keen on gegenpressing as Rangnick, but the German himself has already claimed he will be a key player throughout his tenure. His fitness may be the only issue but he was with the squad on Saturday night.
Mason Greenwood is likely to come in ahead of Marcus Rashford after the latter was particularly underwhelming in front of his new boss against Arsenal.
Manchester United predicted XI to face Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, van de Beek; Sancho, Fernandes, Greenwood; Ronaldo.
Man Utd predicted line-up vs Crystal Palace as Ralf Rangnick takes charge for the first time
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