BENTEKE’S BIG CHANCE TO GET ONE OVER BELGIUM RIVAL LUKAKU

THIS is a battle between the two Belgian beasts: Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke. Belgium manager Roberto Martinez will be eagerly watching tonight to see how his forwards fare. I recently challenged Lukaku in these pages to start scoring against the big teams. After breaking his duck in a superb display against Chelsea — in which he hauled United level before setting up Jesse Lingard’s winner — Lukaku will be looking for another emphatic performance at Selhurst Park. His challenge now should be to deliver consistent displays week in, week out and go into the World Cup on fire. For Benteke, who has not been at the races for much of this campaign, this has to be the time he fills the void left by the injured Wilfried Zaha. No team should be reliant on one player to ensure their Premier League survival but that is the case with Palace and Zaha. Incredibly, Palace have lost all eight games that Zaha has missed — scoring just one goal. With Swansea getting their act together, Huddersfield picking up vital points and a resurgent Brighton now unbeaten in seven games, Roy Hodgson’s side have been dragged back into the relegation battle. So if Palace are to have a hope against United tonight, Benteke has to stand up and be their main man. I can think of no better motivation than to get one over his Belgium team-mate and rival Lukaku.

OUR EXPERT PREDICTIONS CHRIS SUTTON 2-0 TO UNITED JAMIE REDKNAPP 2-0 TO UNITED MARTIN KEOWN 1-1 DRAW