Three At 3: Manchester United will prove too much for Crystal Palace at Old Trafford

Manchester United vs Crystal Palace, Old Trafford, 15:00

United got off to a flyer on the opening day o the season as they put four past Frank Lampard’s Chelsea and will be keen to continue that kind of home form when they return to Old Trafford to face Palace in the pick of Saturday afternoon’s games.

Although the 4-0 win over the Blues was pretty convincing, it’s fair to say that United rode their luck somewhat in the first half and were probably fortunate not to find themselves a goal down, that said, there were still plenty of positives and it’s difficult to see anything other than a convincing home win for the Reds.

Solskjaer’s men also looked pretty good away at Wolves last Monday too and but for a missed Paul Pogba penalty could have found themselves going into this one with a 100% record along with Arsenal and Liverpool who meet on Saturday night.

As for Roy Hodgson’s Eagles, they are yet to register a win this season having drawn with Everton and lost to Sheffield United and look destined to struggle this season unless they turn things around soon.

Having conceded just one goal in two games Palace will be hoping their back line can stand firm in what could easily become an attack versus defence encounter at Old Trafford, but an early goal for the home side could force them onto the front foot and might just open the floodgates for a pretty potent looking United attacking line-up.

PREDICTION: Manchester United 3 Crystal Palace 0 at 9.00*

Sheffield United vs Leicester City, Bramall Lane, 15:00 kick off

Leicester come into this one full of confidence following a superb display at Stamford Bridge last Sunday as they look to secure their first win of the campaign following two hard-earned draws.

The Foxes finished ninth last season and will be keen to improve on that position under their new boss Brendan Rodgers despite losing Harry Maguire to Manchester United earlier in the summer.

Midfielder James Maddison has impressed in both outings so far this season and could be key here if City are finally going to get off the mark though a concern for Rodgers might just be the form of striker Jamie Vardy who, according to Opta, has managed just three shots in his last 360 minutes of football following his brace against Arsenal last April.

As for Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United, they have raised a few eyebrows so far this campaign having avoided defeat in their opening two games against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, meaning they are undefeated in their last nine games stretching back to their promotion wining season of 2018/19.

There’s no doubt that the main objective for Wilder’s men this season is to avoid dropping back into the Championship but on recent evidence United look like they are not scared to play on the front foot so despite Leicester being 2.30* favourites for all three points a draw here would not be a huge surprise to anyone.

PREDICTION: Leicester City 1 Sheffield United 1 at 5.75*

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Southampton, Amex Stadium, 15:00

With four points from their opening two games of the season Brighton have been something of a surprise package so far this campaign having only just avoided relegation at the tail end of last season as new boss Graham Potter continues to impress.

A convincing 3-0 opening day win over Watford was followed up by an impress display in a 1-1 draw with West Ham meaning Potter’s men go into this clash with South Coast rivals Southampton full of confidence.

The Saints, on the other hand, have had less to shout about following a defeat to Burnley and a defeat to Liverpool from their first two matches, though will be encouraged by a fighting second half display last week against the European Champions,

On paper this looks like a home win all day long at 2.45* but Southampton are a good side and perhaps are yet to get into their stride so far this campaign, so a draw could be on the cards here which wouldn’t be a bad result for either side.