Leeds United continue their fight against Premier League relegation with a trip to Crystal Palace on Monday evening.
Patrick Vieira's side lost 2-0 in their FA Cup semi-final to Chelsea last weekend and also went down 1-0 to Newcastle United in midweek, while the Whites put three unanswered goals past Watford a couple of weeks ago.
Match preview
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Hitting a slight roadblock in their strong progress under the Premier League Hall of Famer, Vieira's Crystal Palace enter Monday's game on a run of three straight defeats after seeing their FA Cup dreams dashed by Chelsea, who refused to allow the up-and-coming Conor Gallagher to take part in the Wembley encounter.
The Eagles were also undone by a Miguel Almiron special in a 1-0 midweek loss to Newcastle as they continue to falter away from their Selhurst Park headquarters, and they have not quite staved off the threat of relegation to the Championship.
Following Aston Villa's stalemate with Leicester City, Palace remain 14th in the rankings at the time of writing - ahead of the Lions on goal difference - while a nine-point chasm separates them from Burnley in the drop zone with six games left to play.
It would be a shock to see Vieira's side dragged into a scrap for their top-flight status at this stage, but the visit of Manchester United on the final day of the season represents the most difficult test left on the Eagles' agenda, and the Red Devils are hardly what they used to be.
In spite of their struggles on the road, Palace enter Monday's game having won three of their last four at home in all tournaments - keeping clean sheets in each of their last three - but Leeds have recent experience when it comes to finding the back of the net on rival turf.
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As well as his refreshing demeanour and open attitude off the field, Leeds boss Marsch is certainly delivering the results on the pitch that the Whites faithful crave, and his side were in blistering form during their trip to Vicarage Road a couple of weeks back.
Raphinha, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison all carved their way through the Hornets' defence to ensure that Leeds would travel back to base with three points in the bag, and every positive result leads the Whites one step closer to a third straight season in the top flight.
Leeds remain five points clear of Burnley in 16th at the time of writing, and survival is firmly in their hands heading into the final straight after a stellar period of three wins and a draw from their last four - scoring nine goals in that hot streak.
Former RB Leipzig boss Marsch has certainly found the optimum formula for success in the Premier League as his side seek a third consecutive league win on the road, which would certainly get the juices flowing before consecutive meetings with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Recent history also favours Leeds ahead of this fixture, with the Whites winning the last two meetings with Crystal Palace without conceding a goal, but the capital outfit enjoyed a 4-1 thumping on their own turf in the 2020-21 season.
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Team News
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Palace boss Vieira withdrew attacking protege Michael Olise after just 40 minutes against Newcastle due to an ankle issue, so the more experienced Jordan Ayew is ready to be drafted in if necessary.
Luka Milivojevic was absent from the St James' Park loss due to a thigh injury but has returned to training over the weekend, while Nathan Ferguson works his way back from a fresh setback.
Odsonne Edouard was tasked with leading the line at St James' Park but will likely cede his place to Jean-Philippe Mateta, and Eberechi Eze will also be hoping for more opportunities to showcase his skills in the final few weeks.
As far as Leeds are concerned, Marsch has admitted that Adam Forshaw will be absent for the remainder of the season after fracturing his kneecap, joining attacking duo Tyler Roberts and Patrick Bamford on the sidelines.
Bamford should be back out on the training pitches next week but will not be ready for Monday, but Marsch is expected to have both Jamie Shackleton and Junior Firpo available to him.
After such a dominant showing at Vicarage Road, Marsch could elect to make just the single change to the lineup this week, with Kalvin Phillips replacing Mateusz Klich.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; McArthur, Kouyate, Gallagher; Ayew, Mateta, Zaha
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Cooper, Dallas; Koch, Phillips; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison; James
We say: Crystal Palace 2-2 Leeds United
The attacking lines should certainly dominate proceedings at Selhurst Park, with the Eagles quite the prolific force at home despite flattering to deceive on the road as of late.
The hosts' defensive resilience at Selhurst Park may not count for much against a reinvigorated Leeds side still seeking to assure themselves of survival, but a refreshed Palace outfit determined to end their slight dip in form are more than capable of earning a point from an entertaining encounter.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Crystal Palace win with a probability of 46.2%. A win for Leeds United had a probability of 29.1% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Crystal Palace win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.31%) and 2-0 (7.65%). The likeliest Leeds United win was 0-1 (7.3%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.65%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
