Manchester United vs Crystal Palace Monday May 6th 2024

Last weekend officially confirmed what many Manchester United fans have known for a long time now, they won't be competing in next season's Uefa Champions League. But this does not mean Erik Ten Hag's side have nothing to play for. With a potential sacking looming over Ten Hag's head, he will be hoping to finish the season as strongly as possible and gain some momentum before the Manchester derby FA Cup final on May 25th.

Will this be United's Worst Premier League Finish?

United will also be looking to finish strong so they can finish in a European spot. On top of this, a strong finish is needed so as not to be labeled the worst Manchester United side in Premier League history. At the moment, United's worst-ever Premier League finish is 7th place under David Moyes in the 2013/2014 season. Their worst-ever points total came in 2020/2021 when they came 6th in the table and finished on 58 points under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick. This season Erik Ten Hag is in danger of breaking both those records. His side currently have 54 points and lie in 6th place. However, a poor finish to the season could see them fall as low as 9th with Newcastle, West Ham, and Chelsea all hot on the Red Devils' heels. This would almost certainly see an end to Ten Hag's reign at the Theatre of Dreams.

Crystal Palace on the Road to a Strong Premier League Finish

Crystal Palace on the other hand look a far better side since Oliver Glasner took over the club from Roy Hodgson in late February. Although they are 14th in the Premier League table at the moment, they have only lost one game in their last five and have picked up three wins during that period.

Having recently beaten Liverpool at Anfield and Newcastle at home, they will be coming into this game with the confidence that they can defeat another big Premier League team and will be relishing the opportunity to face this United side. Selhurst Park has never been an easy place to visit even when Palace are struggling, and with this uptake in form, it is no wonder sportsbooks have the London club as the favorites with EPL betting odds of +140 on Bet365.

Odds of Both Teams to Score (-225)

As poor as Manchester United have been this season their games have certainly not lacked entertainment. Both teams have managed to score in nine of their last ten games including FA Cup ties. In six of these last ten games, both teams have managed to score 2+ goals. Palace games also tend to see both teams scoring although not as frequently as United. With odds of -225, both teams scoring should be a safe bet to add to your same-game parlay.

Corner Betting (+100)

Bet365 are currently offering for there to be over 11 corners in the game at +100 odds and here's why I will be taking that on. In Manchester United's last 5 games, there have been an average of 12.8 corners. For Palace, there has been a slightly lower number with an average of 10 corners in the last 5 games. However, when the two sides met at Old Trafford earlier this season there were a total of 14 corners. At +100 odds I predict there to be over 11 corners on Monday.

Palace Number of Shots (+333)

Bet365 are offering odds of +333 for Crystal Palace to have under 13 shots and -500 for them to have 13+, and despite how leaky United has been in defence this season, I'm taking the under. In Crystal Palace's last 10 Premier League games they have only managed an average of 9.2 shots a game. In those 10 games, they have only recorded 13+ shots twice with one of these games being against 18th-placed Luton Town. It's the underdog bet, but I'm taking the under on this spread.

Diarmuids' Final Tips: Both Teams to Score, 11+ match corners and under 12.5 shots for Crystal Palace at odds of +1150.