Crystal Palace can make it three consecutive home games against Manchester United without defeat as they welcome Erik ten Hag's side to Selhurst Park on Wednesday, 18th January (20:00 GMT).
Palace will hope for a repeat of last season’s finale, when Wilfried Zaha’s goal ensured three points on the final day and the Eagles kept their sixth consecutive home clean sheet. Erik ten Hag was in the stands that day, so will be no stranger to the Selhurst Park atmosphere.
Indeed, Manchester United have failed to score on their last two visits to SE25.
Palace have won three of the last six meetings between the two, as many as they won in the previous 31.
All Palace needed was a sprinkling of good luck to turn their much-improved performance at Stamford Bridge into points. The Eagles were positive from the outset and came close on several occasions, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga into several crucial saves.
“I think we did enough to get at least a point today,” Vieira said at his post-match press conference. “The other side is to look at chances created. Today again we created enough chances to score goals.
“The problem is not about that. The most difficult thing is to create chances. It’s about scoring: we should score more goals, that is a fact.
“We have quality players who can do that. At the moment it is true that we lost a bit of our confidence. We don’t take our chances, we have to keep working on that side.
“When you don’t win games you lose confidence, but on the other side you tell the players to look at the performances and the performance today was positive.
“We did it last year [turned the form around] and we will do it again.”
To say the fixture computer has been unkind is an understatement, and now Palace face an in-form Man Utd before welcoming Champions League hopefuls Newcastle on Saturday.
It’s the first in what is almost a double-header between the two sides, after the game was rearranged following the death of Her Majesty the Queen in September. After their visit to Selhurst on Wednesday, Man Utd welcome Palace to Old Trafford in just three weeks time.
As for Manchester United, the post-World Cup period has been one of their best in recent years. Six straight wins, most recently a stunning derby comeback against Manchester City, has moved them to within a point of their local rivals and sees them arrive at Selhurst Park full of confidence.
Much of that progress has been made thanks to the form of Marcus Rashford, who equalled Dennis Viollet’s 1959 record of scoring in nine straight home games for the club. He has scored in every match - home and away - since the World Cup.
It will be a return to Selhurst for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has impressed since filling in for the injured Diogo Dalot. Wan-Bissaka came through the Academy at Palace before leaving in 2017.
With both Palace and Man Utd playing three tough games in a week, there could be a shuffling of the packs from both managers on Wednesday evening.
Patrick Vieira will be waiting on the fitness of Joachim Andersen, who was withdrawn in the first-half at Stamford Bridge, but was pleased with James Tomkins' composed performance in his place. Chris Richards is also an option.
In midfield there is a balance to be struck between the attacking impetus offered by Ebere Eze, Michael Olise or Jeff Schlupp with the defensive solidity given by Cheick Doucouré, Luka Milivojevic or Will Hughes.
The visitors' top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal this weekend offers Erik ten Hag an interesting selection dilemma: with both Casemiro - arguably their most important player this season - and Fred one booking from suspension, they may not be risked.
It means responsibility for patrolling the midfield may fall to Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen, with Bruno Fernandes ahead of them. Lisandro Martínez has also been mooted as a wildcard option for the position.
Watch live
The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK
Watching from abroad? You can check Premier League broadcast details wherever you are in the world by clicking here.
On Palace TV+
Live audio commentary Palace v Man Utd will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service that gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.
Find out more by clicking here.
Social media
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official app
The official Palace app’s match centre and live blog is the place to be for everything you need during the Man Utd clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
