Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace 2016: Prediction, Time, Live Stream Info. Team News For Premier League Match

Manchester United will be without the man who has inspired a much-needed injection of optimism when it visits Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Curiously frozen out at the start of the season following his big-money transfer from Borussia Dortmund, Mkhitaryan has been given his chance in the past couple of weeks and taken full advantage.

After a duo of assists in a thumping EFL Cup win over West Ham, the Armenian attacking midfielder found the back of the net in both a Europa League win over Zorya Luhansk and Sunday’s 1-0 triumph over Tottenham. But just as he was displaying the form that saw him voted the Bundesliga’s best player last season he was stretchered off with what looked at the time like a serious ankle injury.

The good news for Mkhitaryan and Manchester United is that the injury is not nearly as bad as first thought, although he is still expected to be out until the hectic festive period.

"Hopefully, Mkhitaryan can play at Christmas," Mourinho said at his pre-match press conference, Monday.

"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."

The victory over Tottenham was just Manchester United’s second win in the league in its last nine outings. Still, all is not lost, with the gap to fourth place having come down to six points. And Mourinho is hopeful that the recent form of central defensive duo Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo, together with the return from injury of summer arrival Eric Bailly, can give United a solid platform moving forward.

“They’re playing well, they’re playing more than ever and better than ever, and now we have a third central defender to rotate,” he said. “We gave a rest to Jones in Ukraine and now he played against Tottenham free of injury or tiredness; we now have a third central defender in Bailly. Until the end of the year, hopefully we can manage with those three in the two positions."

There has also been a welcome, if still fleeting, recent upturn in results for Crystal Palace. Manager Alan Pardew ended a six-game losing streak that had brought much speculation over his future with a win over Southampton and on Saturday a late goal from Manchester United youth team graduate Frazier Campbell rescued a point at Hull City.

Neither the club, nor Pardew, is out of the woods yet, though. Crystal Palace still sits just three points outside the relegation zone. And a meeting with Manchester United will bring back particularly unpleasant memories for the Palace manager.

The two sides last met in the FA Cup final at Wembley in May when a goal from Jason Puncheon appeared to set Palace on the road to victory and prompted a soon-to-be infamous dance from Pardew on the sideline. Just a few minutes later he was slumped back in his chair following an equalizer from Juan Mata before an extra-time goal from Jesse Lingard saw the trophy heading to Manchester.

But when the two sides face off again on Wednesday, Pardew is hoping that a former Manchester United player could hold the key to an upset. Wilfried Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last signing at Old Trafford, but he didn't make much of an impression before returning to Palace. Having often been labeled as a talented but inconsistent winger, he has been the shining light for Palace in recent weeks.

“He's in brilliant form," Pardew said in his pre-match press conference. "I hear a lot of people criticized him for his lack of assists, lack of goals, but the solution laid on the training ground, in himself and in my coaches, my training team – myself, Kevin Keen, Keith Millen – [we kept] grinding on him about his finishing and his end product and it's now becoming a feature of his game.”

Palace will be unable to call upon its goalscorer in the FA Cup final, Jason Puncheon, due to suspension, while goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, Connor Wickham, Pape Souare, Loic Remy, James Tomkins and Bakary Sako all remain sidelined through injury. As well as missing Mkhitaryan, a suspension will rule out Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia.

Prediction: The loss of Mkhitaryan is a major blow to Manchester United, given the importance of his pace alongside the more leisurely movements of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Still, United appear to have gained some defensive solidity and may still have enough going forward to scrape a second straight Premier League win for the first time since August.

Predicted Score: Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester United

Kickoff Time: 3 p.m. EST
TV Channel: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra