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On Saturday, two Premier League teams will face off while experiencing seasons that are almost polar opposites of each other when Manchester United and Crystal Palace square off in a match that’s less about whether Manchester will win, and more about if Palace can finally end their season-long stretch of historic futility.
On one side of Old Trafford, you’ll see a Manchester United side that’s run rampant on the EPL this season. They’re undefeated this season and have out-scored almost everyone in the league, scoring at a rate of almost three goals per match and five more goals than the next-closest team in the charts. They’ve also maintained a stellar defensive record, giving up just two goals in their six matches on the season so far. Suffice it to say, they’ve been incredibly good.
On the other side of the pitch, though, is a Crystal Palace side that’s going for a new record in futility. Not only have they not won a match yet this season, not only have they not even earned one single point yet this season, they have yet to score a single goal this season. Even outside of their historic lack of goalscoring, they’ve had such a bad a start it’s almost unheard of, especially for a team like Palace that actually has pretty solid talent in the side. They should be a mid-table team hoping for more, instead of coming up fast on some records they would really rather not break.
It goes from bad to worse for Crystal Palace when you look at their injury list. Christian Benteke is out for at least six or seven more weeks with a knee injury. Wilifred Saha is out with a knee injury of his own. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has a thigh issue that will keep him out this weekend, and James Tomkins was too sick to train, much less play. That’s four key players out for a Palace side that can ill-afford the losses, and even with Manchester United missing Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Antonio Valencia, and Phil Jones, they just don’t have the talent or the form to have much of any hope in a match against the rushing train that is United.
Match info, plus how to watch on TV and stream
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 7 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. local
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England
TV: NBCSN (U.S. - English), Universo (U.S. - Spanish)
Online: NBC Sports Live (U.S.)
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Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV