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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 22
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
Old Trafford
Manchester, England
Saturday, 4 February 2023
Kick-off is at 17h00
Manchester United will target a return to winning ways in the
Premier League when they welcome Crystal Palace to Old Trafford on Saturday, February 4.
The Red Devils lost some ground on the top two after suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat to league leaders Arsenal on January 22, having been held to a 1-1 draw by Palace four days prior.
Erik ten Hag's side are tied with third-placed Newcastle on 39 points but remain fourth in the standings due to a vastly inferior goal difference.
Image copyright: Getty Images
United beat Reading 3-1 in the FA Cup fourth round on January 28 to make it 11 home wins in a row and Ten Hag wants his players to keep making it tough for visiting teams.
"This is a fortress. But there's always the next game and the opponent will be motivated and we have to be aware of that," the Dutchman said ahead of the Eagles' visit to the Theatre of Dreams.
"You have to make sure you are in the right focus and getting the right energy when you are starting the next game."
Palace have had a difficult run of fixtures in the new year, losing to London rivals Tottenham (4-0) and Chelsea (1-0) but they managed to take points off United (1-1) and the Magpies (0-0) most recently.
Patrick Vieira's team are five points shy of the top 10 in 12th position and will be looking to break to break into the top half of the table in the weeks to come.
Vieira was pleased to see his players stand up against those four opponents despite the gulf in class and he stressed the importance of staying competitive.
"You always want more, but at the same time we have to realise against the teams that we've played [recently] – Chelsea, United and Newcastle – those three teams are in a different level," the Frenchman said.
"It was important for us to always try to compete as best as we can against those teams, and I think we did well against them. Today again, it wasn't easy at all, but we competed really well and we got the point I strongly believed we deserved."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man United - 1
Palace - 2
Draws - 2
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