Manchester United dealt fixture blow ahead of Arsenal showdown

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Manchester United have finally been given a date for the postponed Crystal Palace fixture.

United’s trip to Selhurst Park was cancelled in September due to The Queen’s death, and had not been rearranged until now.

And with the new timing of the tie, Manchester United have reason to be angry with the Premier League – and so do the club’s travelling fans.

The short notice of the away fixture is inconvenient, and the date is not an easy one for Erik ten Hag’s side to plan for.

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Crystal Palace v Manchester United date set

Manchester United’s date to face Crystal Palace has been set for Wednesday January 18, with kick-off set for 8pm, the club has confirmed.

This is not an easy time for away fans to plan for at short-notice, and on the pitch it’s not a great date either.

The fixture now falls right in between Manchester City at Old Trafford on January 14, and against Arsenal away on January 22.

It is the game away at Arsenal in particular which becomes tougher for United to approach.

United were set to have a whole week to prepare and focus on the Gunners. This won’t be the case any more, with the match against Palace now wedged in.

There are limited options in the calendar for this fixture to be played. If United had lost in the FA Cup third round, it could have been played at the end of January, with Palace eliminated. Instead United face Reading in the fourth round that weekend.

A date also needs to be found to play the match with Leeds which was also postponed. Hopefully when that does get arranged, it is not placed at such an inconvenient time as the Palace game, which really seems like it is a worst case scenario.

On the other hand, if United do suffer an unwelcome loss against City, a game against Palace becomes easier to bounce back in, than a trip to Arsenal.

And at least, it also gets rid of the ‘game in hand’ which has been knocking United down in the Premier League standings.

At the end of that busy week against City, Palace, and Arsenal, we will all have a much better understanding of United’s credentials.

This jam-packed fixture schedule highlights the need to sign a forward, so let’s see if United can get one over the line by then.