Crystal Palace vs. Man Utd Predictions: Featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and a 28/1 shot

It’s been a season to forget for Man Utd who have spluttered their way through to the final day. Instead of jostling it out for the title, or even a top-four finish, the Red Devils are instead hoping to bag a place in the Europa League - over the Conference League - which a win at Crystal Palace will ensure. Meanwhile, the Eagles still have an outside chance of a top-10 Premier League finish for only the second time in their history.

It seems an age since Man Utd last took to the field in that sorry 4-0 spanking at the hands of Graham Potter’s Brighton. The south coast pummelling was arguably a 2021/22 nadir for Man Utd in a season which has been jam-packed with miserable moments.

Man Utd have been lambasted for a lack of fight and effort during a rotten run which has produced just three wins in 13 matches, while they’ve lost six in 11. However, the underperformers can at least jet off on their lucrative holidays on a high note by claiming a win in the capital on the final day, which will secure a spot in the Europa League. After all, Crystal Palace away is traditionally a fixture Man Utd thrived in: winning 11 of their last 15 visits dating back 32 years - losing none.

As for Crystal Palace, they will hope to become the latest in a long line of clubs to inflict more misery on United. After seeing the manner in which rivals Brighton battered the Red Devils, Patrick Vieira’s troops will fancy their chances of getting a result in front of their passionate home support. They can draw on a decent home record with only the top-three losing fewer games on their own patch, while they have conceded just 17 goals.

Palace are priced at 43/20 to see out the season with a win, United are the 5/4 favourites for the win in the presence of incoming new manager Erik Ten Hag, while a draw can be backed at 11/4.

Man Utd may have had a shocker this season, but one player you can’t point the finger at is the indefatigable Cristiano Ronaldo. Only Mo Salah (21) and Heung-min Son (20) have more goals on the board than the Portuguese, who has 18 goals in 30 league appearances.

Ronaldo blanked in his last outing at Brighton, however he’d found the back of the net in each of his last four appearances before that, and has nine goals in his previous seven games including two hat-tricks. Over that same period, Ronaldo has accumulated 31 shots, 15 of which have been on target.

With it being the final game of the campaign - and with new boss Ten Hag watching from the stands - Ronaldo will be keen to sign off the season with a bang. We like the look of the striker at 7/2 with Paddy Power to have three or more shots on target during the match. Ronaldo will be determined to reach that 20-goal mark, he’s not exactly shy of shooting on tap and we expect the shots to fly in from all angles at Selhurst Park this weekend.

As it’s the final day of the Premier League season we’d thought we’d whip up a tasty 28/1 bet builder for you, with bet365, which requires Cristiano Ronaldo to score, Wilfried Zaha to be carded, and Crystal Palace to avoid defeat on home soil.

A more in-depth look at Ronaldo’s recent form can be read in the above section. But to put it simply, he’s scored nine goals in his last seven games. He’s in superb form and will be desperate to end the season with at least another goal on the board.

Wilfried Zaha has also been in fine form himself of late, however we like the look of him to be carded in this one. It doesn’t take a lot for the forward to get wound up easily, while he can often give away needless fouls such as the one against Everton which led to the home sides’ winner. He was perhaps fortunate to stay on the pitch given that he had already been booked for a foul on Dele Alli. 

So far this season Zaha has given away the third most fouls of any Palace player (36) and has received six yellows and a red for club and country. There’s always a bit more spice when playing against a former club, which could lead to another caution on Sunday.

For the final part of the bet builder we need Crystal Palace to win or draw against a Man Utd side that haven’t won on the road since February and have lost their last five away games on the spin; conceding 16 goals. Meanwhile, Palace are unbeaten in seven matches on their own patch, which includes a draw with Man City.