Crystal Palace need to find three points from somewhere, but then they run into a Manchester United side equally desperate for a victory. As both teams look to gain points for different reasons, this match at Selhurst Park promises to be another one of those high-scoring Premier League matches to remember this season.
Manchester United are coming off a 1-0 victory over Tottenham, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will miss this match through injury, fired the home team to all three points against a disappointing Spurs side. That win coupled by the fact that Manchester City lost in the same weekend cut the gap to the top four to just six points.
Jose Mourinho will know City are unlikely to go down on Wednesday, when they play Watford at home, so three points against Crystal Palace is of absolute importance. Mourinho, though, will need to find a starting XI and matchday squad that do not include either Mkhitaryan or first-choice right-back Antonio Valencia.
Mkhitaryan has been ruled out for the next couple of games with an ankle injury suffered in the win over Spurs, although Mourinho is hopeful of the Armenian returning on Boxing Day, while Valencia is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the same match.
"Hopefully, Mkhitaryan can play at Christmas," Mourinho said. "We believe it's possible. When I saw him on the stretcher, I thought it was more difficult. When I watch the tackle on TV, I was a bit scared, but no. It's a pity, because he's going to miss matches in his best period, but at least we won't lose a player for so long."
Wayne Rooney could be the man to replace Mkhitaryan in the starting XI, although Mourinho insisted that was far from a straightforward decision, with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Memphis Depay, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young also in contention.
"Rooney, Rashford, Lingard, Ashley Young, Memphis Depay – that's a position where we have lots of players so that will not be another problem, to choose a player to play," Mourinho said. "The problem is he [Mkhitaryan] was playing so well and now he's not there."
Crystal Palace's problem this season has been conceding goals. In 15 matches, they have already given away 29 goals, with only West Ham, Swansea City and Hull City having poorer records in defence. Another three were conceded in the draw with Hull at the weekend, and Alan Pardew will know his team cannot afford to defend so diabolically against Manchester United.
Where to Watch Live
Everton vs Arsenal is set to being at 7.45pm GMT (2.45pm ET, 1.15am IST). Live Streaming and TV information.
India: TV: Star Sports Select HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: BT Sport 1. Live Streaming: Watch BT Sport.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live Streaming: Watch Sportsnet.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
China: TV: Guangdong Sports and Tianjin.
