Manchester United Starts New Era

Game: Manchester United F.C. vs Crystal Palace F.C.

Location: Old Trafford, Manchester, England, U.K.

Date/Time: Sunday, 9 a.m. ET

Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Betting Preview

Head to Head

Crystal Palace’s only two wins over Manchester United in the Premier League era have come in the last two seasons. Perhaps a sign of United’s long demise, the last six meetings have been even.

Both sides have won two matches and drawn twice. Last season, for the first time ever, Palace was undefeated vs Man U. A Wilfried Zaha brace lifted Palace to a 3-1 win at Old Trafford and there was a scoreless draw in London.

Rangnick Era Begins

Manchester United took on Arsenal on Thursday night, looking for its first home win for nearly three months. Things started out frustratingly for the Red Devils as Arsenal had a series of corners and dominated the early stages of the match.

In one of the most bizarre goals you’re likely to see, Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe volleyed the ball into the net while David De Gea was down injured. Because the referee blew his whistle after the ball was in the net and De Gea was injured by his own player, the goal stood after a VAR check. United’s Bruno Fernandes equalized before the half in a back-and-forth first 45 minutes.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 800th career goal for club and country as he guided a cross in and gave Man U a 2-1 lead in the 52nd minute. Arsenal quickly equalized from a Martin Odegaard goal, but it was Odegaard who later conceded a penalty, giving United an opportunity to take the lead.

Ronaldo promptly started his ninth century of goals and converted straight down the middle. Arsenal had some chances to equalize in a hectically open contest but United held on for a 3-2 win in Michael Carrick’s last game as interim manager.

United will be happy with the win but has now failed to keep a clean sheet in 15 consecutive matches at Old Trafford in all competitions. Now Rangnick, hired to succeed Carrick, will be tasked with making United one of the Premier League’s best soccer picks.

Rangnick is tipped to become United’s next technical director at the end of the season and watched the match vs Arsenal from the stands while awaiting a work permit. The hire was universally applauded as the Rangnick coaching tree includes names like Julian Nagelsmann, Jesse Marsch and Marco Rose.

He has a lot of talent at his disposal but it remains to be seen if he can have more success than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Palace Not to be Underestimated

Crystal Palace has lost two consecutive matches for the first time under first-year manager Patrick Vieira. On Tuesday night, Raphinha scored a stoppage-time winner for Leeds to dash Palace’s hopes of getting a point away from home.

Last weekend, a suddenly resurgent Aston Villa under Steven Gerrard beat Palace 2-1 in London. Just two points away from Manchester United and the top half of the table, Palace will be pleased with their start under Vieira.

Palace has some impressive results and is just a few weeks removed from consecutive 2-0 wins over Manchester City and Wolves. The Eagles also destroyed Tottenham 3-0 in September and were seconds away from beating Arsenal at the Emirates.

Many expected Palace to be in the relegation zone but they’ve been a much better pick for betting online than advertised. In Odsonne Edouard, Zaha and Christian Benteke, Palace has a host of attacking weapons.

Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher has been one of the best players in the Premier League and his inspired performances from midfield have lifted Palace. He recently made his England debut and is joint-top scorer on Palace with four goals, along with Zaha and Benteke.

Prediction

Manchester United played a free-flowing game vs Arsenal, leaving themselves exposed and conceding a couple times. Crystal Palace should also have a tough time with all of Manchester United’s weapons, especially as Jadon Sancho is finding his form.

In a match between two teams who have struggled to keep their opposition out of the net, take over 2½ goals in the BetUS sportsbook.

Pick: Over 2½ Goals (-130)