Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Manchester United travel to Crystal Palace on Wednesday as midweek football makes its return to the Premier League, and the hosts are starting to hit form at just the right moment.

Manager Alan Pardew's side are unbeaten in two games after going six losses on the bounce, while United are hoping Sunday's 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur will provide a launchpad for a successful run of their own.

Palace defeated Southampton 3-0 the last time they were in action at Selhurst Park and will hunt a similar upset against Jose Mourinho's men, but breaking down their guests is sure to prove a difficult task.

Both teams also have absences to be wary of, with United's in-form star Henrikh Mkhitaryan set to begin his recovery after suffering an injury in the win over Spurs.

Read on for a preview of Wednesday's midweek clash, complete with viewing details and a breakdown of all the latest team news.

Date: Wednesday, December 14

Time: 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET

Venue: Selhurst Park, London

Live Stream: BT Sport app (UK), beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)

TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK), beIN Sports 3 (U.S.)

Crystal Palace	Manchester United
Hull City 3-3 Crystal Palace	Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Crystal Palace 3-0 Southampton	Zorya Luhansk 0-2 Manchester United
Swansea City 5-4 Crystal Palace	Everton 1-1 Manchester United
Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City	Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United
Burnley 3-2 Crystal Palace	Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United

Team News

The timing of Mkhitaryan's ankle injury is particularly disappointing given the Armenia international was just beginning to find his feet under Mourinho and again dazzled in Sunday's victory over Tottenham.

The club can take heart in the knowledge his setback wasn't as severe as first believed, however, and Mourinho told the press after Sunday's win that Mkhitaryan could be back in time for Christmas.

Per Stuart Mathieson of the Manchester Evening News, the United manager said: "He can play at Christmas we believe it is possible. When I saw him on stretcher I thought it was more difficult. When I watched the tackle on TV I was a bit scared. It is a pity because he will miss matches in his best period."

While Mkhitaryan will be a miss, United's biggest absences appear in defence. ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery confirmed Antonio Valencia will be suspended for the clash, meaning Matteo Darmian, Timothy Fosu-Mensah or Ashley Young could deputise at right-back:

Eric Bailly came on late against Spurs and could make his way back into a Premier League starting XI for the first time since he was injured in the defeat to Chelsea on Oct. 23. Luke Shaw missed Sunday's clash, however, and Wednesday's fixture could also come too soon for a return.

That said, Mourinho has taken note of the surprisingly reliable pairing that's emerged between Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo in the absence of Bailly and Chris Smalling, per BBC Sport's Simon Stone:

Palace manager Pardew confirmed prior to Saturday's 3-3 draw at Hull City that centre-back James Tomkins and attacker Bakary Sako would be missing, per Dinnery, but it's unknown whether either will return this Wednesday.

One star who will be omitted from the lineup, however, is Jason Puncheon, who picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against the Tigers:

Preview

Despite the fact United may not be entirely content with their points haul from recent outings, they remain unbeaten in seven matches, during which time they've scored 13 goals and conceded only four.

The sense at Old Trafford is that Mourinho's men had been playing well without producing the results consistently, and the Telegraph's James Ducker highlighted Sunday's win as something of a turning point:

United have won just three of their seven away trips in the Premier League this season, though, and Palace will be eager to maintain the momentum from their last home outing, a dominant 3-0 win over Southampton.

That being said, Palace's defence has come under scrutiny this term, and Gracenote Sports statistician Simon Gleave recently took note of the bonus they've handed some of the teams in the lower half of the table:

Having scored just the one goal in each of their last four league outings, it's fair to say capitalising on offensive pressure has been United's main concern, and Mkhitaryan's absence won't help in that regard.

However, a team of United's quality should have sufficient resources to take three points from south London, whether the Eagles are at full strength or not.