Take two: The lowdown on Palace's second Old Trafford trip

Match previews

29 Sep 2023

Crystal Palace are back at Old Trafford for a second time in five days on Saturday, 30th September (15:00 BST) – before kick-off, get the latest on our double-header opponents…

Here we go again...

Palace's 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Tuesday night saw the Eagles exit the League Cup in the third round, with Manchester United now set to welcome Newcastle for a place in the quarter-finals.

It was a disappointing night for the Eagles, who lost goalkeeper Dean Henderson after just 19 minutes on his debut, but there was a first chance to see Rob Holding in a Palace shirt.

Furthermore, Academy graduate Jes Rak-Sakyi started the game, with David Ozoh coming off the bench and coming very close to netting his first goal for the club; 19-year-old striker Ademola Ola-Adebomi also made his first appearance in a senior matchday squad.

As for United, a second successive win and a second successive clean sheet has eased the pressure swirling around Old Trafford, and the return from injury of Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat and Raphael Varane has steadied the ship.

Having rested Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund during midweek, we can expect to see a much-changed XI from Erik ten Hag - and Palace will hope a much different result, too.

Alejandro Garnacho gives Man Utd the lead on Tuesday evening

Inside the camps

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag:

"I think we played quite well and dominated the game [against Palace]. So that was what we were looking for.

"But I also saw disappointment and frustration [from previous defeats]. But the mood is then dropping. The spirit was always good, togetherness was always there and is there. And you could also see that today.

"We make a step forward in Burnley, how we defend, how we do that, and togetherness today on the ball and we make another step. So there's still a lot to come, but we are making [progress] and we are moving forward.

"The mood with us is always good, but of course, when you are not winning, at United, there is disappointment, there is frustration, but the togetherness is always there with us. We know that we are not now in the position where we want to be, yeah. So we have to build up, we have to catch up.

"Then you have to go from game to game, working on the process and working on the results. We don’t think too far ahead, the next game is the most important, always."

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson:

“It’s a case of accepting that tonight didn’t go the way we dreamt it might go. But the reality was that we came up against a team that caused us problems, created chances and won the game more than deservedly.

“We’re going to have to come to terms with that and find, in the Thursday and Friday training sessions, a way to try to get people back into the frame of mind – like how we kicked off tonight – that we can make a good fist of this game and come away with a result.”

Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew:

“We know they were just better than us tonight and we just need to go back home, recover and get ready for Saturday, because Saturday’s going to be a different game. I think this game has given us more desire and more will to win on Saturday.

“We just need to go back home and recover well because the most important thing is that Saturday is ahead of us. We want to come here and show a better face of our team and a better Crystal Palace.”

The boss

The former Ajax manager won three consecutive league titles in the Netherlands – with a fourth denied during a COVID-curtailed season – and took the club to a Champions League semi-final, losing out on a place in the final by a last-gasp Lucas Moura winner for Tottenham.

Factfile

Manager: Erik ten Hag
Last season: 3rd
Nickname: The Red Devils
Ground: Old Trafford
Founded: 1878 (145 years ago)

Two clubs linked...

Crystal Palace helped to fund a stained-glass tribute to Duncan Edwards in Dudley, his home town, three years after his death in the 1958 Munich air disaster. Both Palace and Brentford, and local bowling club Wren’s Nest, helped United to finance the tribute inside St Francis church, and as such as there is Palace crest alongside two depictions of Edwards.

Quite why the club became involved isn’t entirely known, beyond paying its respects. They were linked by Peter Berry, whose brother Johnny survived the crash after being treated alongside Edwards.

When Sir Matt Busby unveiled St Francis’ tribute to Edwards, he said: “These windows should keep alive his name forever, and they will shine always.”

In 1984, a 28-year-old Steve Coppell was forced to call time on a long Man Utd career - after 393 appearances and 70 goals, including 207 consecutive appearances between 1977 and 1981 - and became Crystal Palace manager.

Coppell led Palace to the FA Cup final, third place in the top-flight and the Full Members Cup trophy.

Did you know?

Founded by railway workers as ‘Newton Heath LYR [Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]’ in 1878, by 1902 the club was in deep financial trouble and was served with a winding-up order. Club captain Harry Stafford searched for investment, sending his St Bernard dog Major around with a collection tin attached to his collar.

Major the dog caught the attention of local brewery magnate John Henry Davies, who was so taken by the dog he offered to buy it for his daughter, and in doing so enquired about the collection tin; he would go on to save the club.

That year, they rebranded. After considering ‘Manchester Central’ and ‘Manchester Celtic’, they settled on a new name: Manchester United.

The ground

Termed the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ by Sir Bobby Charlton, Old Trafford was opened in 1910 and designed by renowned architect Archibald Leach – the same man to play a part in designing Selhurst Park in 1924, as well as Anfield, Highbury, Bramall Lane, Celtic Park, Goodison Park, Ibrox, Stamford Bridge, Villa Park and countless others.

With a capacity of around 73,000, it sits behind the Camp Nou, Bernabeu, Westfalenstadion and the San Siro as the fifth-largest club stadium in Europe.

Record against Palace

From a moustachioed Don Rogers rounding Alex Stepney for five to Darren Ambrose’s Old Trafford rocket, Palace have had some famous results against the Red Devils.

While the Eagles have lost their last two league visits to Old Trafford, they won twice on the spin before that and will have confidence they can get another result this time around.

Match details

Saturday, 30th September
15:00 BST
Old Trafford
Live audio commentary on Palace TV+

Related News

More News