Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has suggested that his team may need luck to be on their side when they face Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles make the trip to Old Trafford without registering a point or goal in six matches in the Premier League, while United sit joint-top of the standings and remain undefeated.

The former England boss has acknowledged that United possess a stronger squad, but has hinted that playing Jose Mourinho's team after a long trip back from Russia may be to their advantage.

Hodgson told reporters: "There's never a good time to play Man United and there is always a good time to play them.

"I guess Jose will say it's not ideal to be playing Saturday afternoon after coming back from Russia but they have a strong team and on paper are stronger than we are. But it's not played on paper and hope we can get some good luck."

Palace head into the game without any fit experienced strikers after Christian Benteke was ruled out for at least six weeks with a knee injury.