Soccer

Alan Pardew will not select weakened team for Man United clash

Crystal Palace boss insists keeping momentum more important than resting players

Crystal Palace’s Yannick Bolasie celebrates scoring his team’s first goal of the game with manager Alan Pardew during their 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday. Pardrew said he is not going to change his team completely for the trip to Old Trafford on Wednesday. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Dominic Fifield
Tue Apr 19 2016 - 20:08

Alan Pardew has insisted he will not select a weakened team for Crystal Palace's Premier League game at Manchester United on Wednesday, despite the club's focus being very much fixed upon a first FA Cup semi-final in 21 years this weekend.

Palace play Watford at Wembley on Sunday and, with the game at Old Trafford a fourth in 12 days, they have lost a quartet of first-teamers to knocks sustained in the draw at Arsenal .

The team's scorer that day, Yannick Bolasie, will join Scott Dann, Joe Ledley and Joel Ward in missing the midweek match but, while all four should be fit for the FA Cup tie, Pardew has stressed the priority is to maintain recent momentum rather than rest weary limbs.

While Palace are almost safe from relegation – the manager actually suggested there is still some work to be done – United, fellow FA Cup semi-finalists, are attempting to catch Arsenal and Manchester City in fourth place.

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“I don’t think anyone will look at our side and worry about us putting an under-strength team out when they see the team-sheet,” said Pardew. “We need to be strong and keep focus, so I am not going to change my team completely.

Freshen it up

“It’s been a long time since we have had much momentum, and I think that is more important than rest. So I want to keep the momentum of this team, certainly until the end of the season.

“We’ve had Norwich, Everton and Arsenal so it has been a really tough run for us so I will freshen it up. So there’ll be one or two changes because I will definitely need to increase the energy . . . ”

“Yala has got an issue, Ward will definitely miss the game, and Scott Dann is struggling with the injury he picked up at Arsenal. Joe Ledley has also got a knock, so we have got a few problems.”

Returning to the Palace squad is James McArthur, the only FA Cup winner in the squad, who has recovered quicker than expected from ankle ligament damage sustained in the home defeat to Bournemouth in early February.

Recovered

“He has been a real miss for us: his energy, his experience, his quality,” added Pardew. “It is really good news for us for the four remaining games.

United boss Louis van Gaal has warned his side they have no room for error in the race for a Champions League spot.

He believes three points are essential tonight: “ . . . We have to win, we need to win, otherwise we cannot close the gap. You can only give pressure by winning, so we can only look at ourselves.”

United face Everton in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday but Van Gaal has had to put that glamour occasion to the back of his mind. The Dutchman said: "For us it is too important to rotate because of freshness for the semi-final. For me, now, the most important thing is to beat Crystal Palace. "

Midfielder Ander Herrera is back in contention for United after suffering a knock in the FA Cup quarter-final replay win over West Ham last week.

Captain Wayne Rooney could continue after playing 67 minutes against Villa in his first start since recovering from a knee injury but midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger (knee), forward Adnan Januzaj (hamstring) and defender Luke Shaw (leg) are still out.

(Guardian Service)

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