English Premier League Round 4 Game Preview:
Crystal Palace @ Manchester United
Game Time: Saturday, 07:45 AM EST
After three rounds, the current champions Manchester United have just one win, one draw and one loss, in a poor start for their new head coach David Moyes. However, they had one of the toughest schedules in the league so far, as they faced three teams that ended in the top 10 of the league last season. More than the results, Manchester United struggled in creating real chances to score in their last two games, where they didn't score a single goal. They attempted just three shots on target against Chelsea and then against Liverpool, they had just four shots on target. Their midfield line plays on a high tempo, they have intensity, but they lack creativity and this is why they desperately tried to buy a creative midfielder before the trade deadline. They ended up buying the Belgian Marouane Fellaini for 27.5 million pounds ($42.7 million). Without an injured Wayne Rooney, with Javier Hernandez banged up with some minor injuries and with Nani unhappy, Manchester United displayed a clear lack of creativity on their first three games of the season. They scored four goals against Swansea, but it was more demerit of the opposing defense who committed several individual errors than a great offensive performance from Man Utd.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace is coming from a much needed win over Sunderland, after losing their first two games of the season. Their head coach Ian Holloway was under some media pressure to get results quickly and his team corresponded with a 3-1 win over Sunderland. The game was tied at 1-1 when Sunderland's team captain John O'Shea made a huge defensive error at the 79th minute that gave a penalty kick to Crystal Palace, while O'Shea was sent off. With a 2-1 lead and facing just 10 men, Crystal Palace was even able to make the 3-1 down the stretch for a more comfortable win.
For this game, we have an asian handicap of two goals favoring Manchester United, which immediately presupposes that the reigning champions will have to win this game by at least 3 goals in order to beat the line. It looks like Marouane Fellaini will be at the bench for this game, so the offensive struggles of Man Utd are possible to continue in here, even though they will face a much weaker defense than they faced on their last two games, where they faced Chelsea and Liverpool. With Nani coming from a game played at the United States and with Shinji Kagawa playing a game at Japan last Tuesday, this isn't a great spot for Man Utd indeed. I don't trust Crystal Palace's defense, as they allowed goals in all their three contests, even though they weren't facing great offensive teams: Tottenham, Stoke City and Sunderland. This isn't a good sign for this game. If Crystal Palace could give me more guarantees about their defensive skills, then I would have a lean on them, but as they don't, I'll likely pass on this contest.
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