Man Utd predicted line-up vs. Crystal Palace: key change made with Bruno Fernandes major doubt

Manchester United return to Premier League action on Monday evening when they travel to the capital to face Oliver Glasner’s in-form Crystal Palace side – but the Red Devils may be light on numbers, with as many as 11 first-team players either out or doubts for the game at Selhurst Park.

Bruno Fernandes, who has never missed a Premier League game through injury before, is among those who could be unavailable, while head coach Erik ten Hag will also be sweating on the fitness of a number of his defenders.

We’ve collected all of the latest team news and injury updates below and ventured our best guess at Ten Hag’s likely starting line-up – and if you’re looking for some information for your Fantasy Premier League team, you can also find our high-flying manager’s regular advice column right here.

Goalkeeper & Defence

United’s back line has been plagued by injuries all season and they certainly won’t be at full strength on Monday. Raphaël Varane (foot), Victor Lindelöf (hamstring), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Willy Kambwala (unknown) are all out, while Lisandro Martínez (calf) and Luke Shaw (leg) have returned to training but are unlikely to be ready to face Palace.

Jonny Evans is closer to full fitness and has returned to full training following a recent knock, but Ten Hag only told reporters that “we will see if it is enough” come matchday. If Evans, Martínez and Shaw are all unavailable, it would leave Harry Maguire as the only recognised senior centre-half to be fully fit – Casemiro filled in against Burnley next weekend and may be called upon again.

Midfield

The club haven’t explained what happened to Bruno Fernandes save to say that he is dealing with “an issue” in the wake of last weekend’s 1-1 draw against the Clarets. Ten Hag has been bullish about the Portuguese playmaker’s chances of featuring, however, saying that “he will fight to be a part of this game – never rule him out of any game, and he is giving his best to be available.” Fernandes hasn’t missed a single game through injury since joining United four years ago.

Scott McTominay is the other prominent doubt in midfield – a recent knee injury has kept him out of training this week but he will apparently return to practice on Saturday in the hope that he can play come Monday night. Ten Hag suggested that he will play at least some part, but that he may not be ready for a full 90 minutes.

Forwards

It sounds unlikely that Marcus Rashford will be back on Monday – the England forward has missed the last two matches after sustaining an unspecified injury towards the end of Manchester United’s nail-biting FA Cup semi-final win over Coventry City.

Ten Hag told the press that the injury “hasn’t healed” and that he couldn’t say when Rashford would return to training, so it seems highly unlikely that he will feature against Palace. Anthony Martial, who has been out of action since undergoing groin surgery back in January, is finally back in light training but seems unlikely to be ready by Monday.

Full predicted line-up vs. Crystal Palace

Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Casemiro, Dalot; Mount, Mainoo, Fernandes; Garnacho, Antony, Højlund.