Opposition briefing: Everything you need to know about Man Utd

Match previews

6 Mar 2024

Crystal Palace are back at Selhurst Park to take on Manchester United on Monday, 6th May (20:00 BST) – before kick-off it’s time to get the lowdown on our latest opponents…

Factfile

Manager: Erik ten Hag
Current Position: 6th
Nickname: The Red Devils
Ground: Old Trafford
Founded: 1878 (146 years ago)

What’s the story?

After finishing third last season and reaching two cup finals, winning the League Cup, it’s safe to say that Manchester United’s second season under Erik ten Hag has not gone as well as they might have imagined. An injury-blighted campaign has seen a league-record 61 separate cases of injury throughout the campaign, and the integration of many academy youngsters into the matchday squads.

A dire winter period saw them lose vital ground in the race for the Champions League places and slip out of the competition itself in the group stages, with a League Cup exit to Newcastle meaning any hope of silverware was quickly relying on success in the FA Cup.

Having reached the FA Cup final thanks to two remarkable games – the first a spirited last-minute comeback win against biggest rivals Liverpool, the second a less morale-boosting penalty shoot-out victory over Coventry City at Wembley – a second successive Manchester derby final awaits.

Focus until then can turn to the rest of the league campaign, and with the top-four now a mathematical impossibility, Ten Hag will be prioritising confirmation of their Europa League status, and the return of significant players from injury – as well as building morale heading into a hugely important first summer under INEOS ownership, which could set the tone for the start of the new campaign.

The boss

Erik ten Hag won four straight titles at Ajax and sent shockwaves around Europe with a 4-1 win at the Bernabeu, before moving to Man Utd in 2022. He won the League Cup and finished third in his first season, but has struggled to repeat that success amid an injury crisis and off-field issues this time around.

Boot in both camps

Aaron Wan-Bissaka came through the Palace Academy as a winger, before moving to full-back and breaking into the first-team under Roy Hodgson. He moved to Old Trafford for £50 million in 2019.

Record against Palace

Palace have already faced Manchester United twice this season, losing in the League Cup but emerging victorious at Old Trafford in the Premier League, thanks to Joachim Andersen's fine half-volley.

The Eagles are unbeaten in three straight games against United at Selhurst Park, with Michael Olise's late free-kick rescuing a last-gasp point last season.

Palace will be gunning for a first-ever league double over the Red Devils.

Match Action: Man Utd 0-1 Crystal Palace

A brief history

Founded by railway workers as Newton Heath in 1878, Manchester United’s modern identity was borne of a financial crisis in 1902. With huge debts and a winding-up order issued, captain Harry Stafford secured financing when his St Bernard’s dog Major escaped and found local brewer John Henry Davies, whose daughter was so smitten with the dog that he was persuaded to help save the club. Having moved from Newton Heath, they debated a new name, and – after disregarding ‘Celtic’ and ‘Central’ – chose ‘United’ as a new suffix, and the modern behemoth was born.

After neighbours Manchester City were engulfed in a financial scandal, United’s first great manager Ernest Magnall picked off several key players and led the club to a two league titles and an FA Cup, with the club moving to Old Trafford in 1910.

Matt Busby transformed the club after the Second World War alongside assistant Jimmy Murphy, winning back-to-back titles in 1956 and 1957 with an exceptionally young, home-grown side and becoming the first English team to compete in the European Cup – before disaster struck.

The Munich Air Disaster on 6th February 1958 killed 23 people, including talisman Duncan Edwards and seven more players, with many others – including Busby – significantly injured. He and Murphy rebuilt the side around Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law, and led the club to European glory a decade later.

After inconsistency – and even relegation – in the 1970s and ‘80s, Sir Alex Ferguson’s arrival precipitated another period of success, winning 13 of the first 20 Premier League titles, two European Cups and four FA Cups, inspired first by the home-grown ‘Class of 92’ including Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, and later by young superstars like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match details

Monday, 6th May
20:00 BST
Selhurst Park
Live on Sky Sports

Related News

More News