Odds, Picks and Predictions
With the English Premier League season beginning in just over three weeks, teams are on preseason tours around the globe. With games being played in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Australia, the EPL is spreading its brand around the world once again. These tours were largely canceled the last two seasons due to COVID, but now they are back in full force.
Among the teams playing games in Asia and Australia are Manchester United and Crystal Palace. Both teams have already faced Liverpool on this tour, and now they will go head to head. Last season in Premier League action, both teams won 1-0 on their home turf, with Palace’s win coming in the final game of the season.
Manchester United are in transition this season with new manager Erik ten Hag. The former Ajax manager took over for Ralf Ragnick after United finished in sixth place in 2021-22, missing this year’s Champions League. New defender Tyrell Malacia is on the trip and played in defense as a substitute for Luke Shaw against both Liverpool and Melbourne Victory.
United are without star Cristiano Ronaldo on this trip, and the Portuguese striker’s future is still up in the air. New signee Cristian Eriksen isn’t on the trip either, but the rest of United is able to get used to ten Hag’s style and system. They are also getting a feel for playing without departed players like Paul Pogba, Edison Cavani, and Nemanja Matic.
United have also welcomed back Antony Martial and Donny van de Beek from loans. Martial scored in the 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool and the 4-1 defeat over Melbourne Victory to start the trip. Jaden Sancho, Fred, and youngster Facundo Pallestri scored against Liverpool, while Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay joined Martial on the scoresheet against Melbourne.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have only half of their team on this trip. Through a combination of fitness, contract issues, and being allowed to travel due to COVID status, Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke, Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze, Sam Johnstone, and Cheick Doucoure are all back in London. New signee Malcolm Ebiowei, a new winger from Derby County, is with the team and played against Liverpool.
The Palace team that will face United lost last week in Singapore to Liverpool 2-0. They started six players that made at least 20 starts last season, including veteran goalkeeper Vicente Guaiata. Manager Patrick Vieira also mixed in Academy players Killian Phillips and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
Palace lost loanee Conor Gallagher and his eight goals last year back to Chelsea but welcomed back captain Luka Milivojević who missed most of last season with an injury. Zaha scored 15 goals last year for Palace while Jean-Philippe Mateta had seven and Odsonne Édouard had six.
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace Match Info
Location: Melbourne Cricket Ground – Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Time: 6:10 a.m. ET
TV: MUTV and Palace TV
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace Odds
- BetOnline – Manchester United -149, Crystal Palace +310, Draw +290
- Bovada – Manchester United -141, Crystal Palace +300, Draw +285
- MyBookie – Manchester United -150, Crystal Palace +320, Draw +295
- BetUS – Manchester United -140, Crystal Palace +300, Draw +280
- BetNow – Manchester United -160, Crystal Palace +340, Draw +300
The best lines for Manchester United come at Bovada at -141. The best odds for Crystal Palace to win outright are +340 at BetNow.
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Betting Trends
- Manchester United have scored four goals in both preseason games so far
- Manchester United have allowed just one goal total in their two preseason games
- Palace lost their first game on the Asian Tour 2-0
- Last year in the Premier League season, both games ended 1-0 in favor of the home team
- Manchester United are 17-4 with four draws in the last 25 regular season games against Crystal Palace
- Manchester United used 22 players in their first preseason game and 21 in the second
Manchester United Thriving Under New Leadership
Manchester United has started most of their expected opening day lineup so far on the tour. The only main starters who didn’t play against Melbourne were goalkeeper David De Gea and center back Raphael Varane, but both started against Liverpool. Backup keeper Tom Heaton will likely start again on Tuesday with a combination of Varane, Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof in center defense.
Malacia could get his first start as well, with Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot also options in defense. Scott McTominay and Fred have a great partnership in midfield behind Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford, and Martial. Ten Hag will likely use the second half to give a look to players like Van de Beek, Anthony Elanga, Tahith Chong, Charlie Savage, Amad Diallo, and Pellistri.
Every game is valuable right now to United as they learn the new system. Ten Hag is using this Asian and Australian tour to experiment with lineups and getting to know his squad. So far, so good with games left against Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid.
Crystal Palace Not Full Strength
It is tough to get a read on Crystal Palace on this tour. Their main goal scorers are primarily playing back in England with a 5-4 win over Millwall and a 4-1 win over Ipswich Town in the last week. This squad still has games in Australia against Leeds United before playing French side Montpellier back in London.
The defense is still the main squad except for Nathaniel Clyne replacing Guehl in the lineup against Liverpool. They will need Jordan Ayew, Mateta, and Eduardo to put pressure on United from the start to avoid falling behind like they did against Liverpool.
After not getting many goal-scoring options against Liverpool in the last game, the pressure is on for Palace to show signs of life on offense against United. Even without Zaha and Benteke, they have the talent to put a scare into Manchester United’s backline. Getting set pieces and corner kicks they can build off would be a great start to build some confidence.
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace Picks and Predictions
- On paper, United is the better team, and they have more of their regular players for this game. Look for United to at least give their stars a full half of action as they have in the first two games and get the early lead and win here.
- This game should be free-flowing as both teams experiment with lineups, look for over 2.5 goals to hit.
- Looking for a fun bet, take a look at Anthony Martial to score for the third game in a row.
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