Manchester United will be looking to continue an unbeaten start to 2026 in the Premier League when Crystal Palace becomes our first March opponent on Sunday.
The afternoon kick-off at Old Trafford comes on the back of 10 top-flight games without a defeat for the Reds, who beat Everton 1-0 last time out, in Monday night’s outing on Merseyside.
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Michael Carrick is expected to provide the latest on United’s recent absentees when he conducts his pre-match media duties on Friday.
Centre-back Lisandro
Martinez had started our nine Premier League matches before missing Monday’s win at Everton due to an injury that “doesn’t seem too bad at all,” according to Carrick.
Matthijs de Ligt and Mason Mount are making progress in their bids to return from spells on the sidelines, although Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is expected to be out for a longer period.
Meanwhile, the picture at Palace will be clearer after they have faced Bosnian outfit HSK Zrinjski Mostar in the second leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off on Thursday night.
Defender Maxence Lacroix missed their 1-0 win over Wolves last weekend with an adductor problem and will need a late fitness assessment ahead of the European tie.
Former Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah won’t play at Old Trafford having had a setback in his recovery from an injury, while the updates provided by manager Oliver Glasner earlier in February suggest that the trip to Manchester may also come too soon for Cheick Doucoure, Jefferson Lerma and Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The aforementioned Glasner has confirmed he will leave the club when his contract expires in the summer, a year after he guided the Eagles to glory in last season’s Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley.
That 1-0 triumph over Manchester City, to win the trophy for the first time in their history, earned European qualification for this term and they have since made it to the Conference League’s knockout play-offs, where they are tied 1-1 with Zrinjski ahead of Thursday’s second leg.
Domestically, their defence of the Cup came to a shock end at the hands of sixth-tier Macclesfield in January, but they have won two of their last three in the league and are up to 13th, just three points behind eighth-placed Bournemouth in a tightly packed middle section of the standings.
United came from behind to win the reverse fixture 2-1 at Selhurst Park in November, but Glasner’s squad has seen some change since then.
Former captain Marc Guehi has departed the backline for Man City, but the attack has been reinforced by the additions of three forwards with Premier League experience: Brennan Johnson (from Spurs), Jorgen Strand Larsen (Wolves) and Evann Guessand (Aston Villa, loan).
