Overview
After two successive league defeats, some confidence was restored to the Iron side with the 4-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night. Chris Dagnall, recruited from Rochdale on a free transfer in the summer, scored his first two competitive goals for the club. He said: "After losing our two previous games without scoring it was nice to get four against Wednesday - and we should have had more. It breeds confidence when a team plays like that and scores goals - hopefully we can carry that on now against Palace."
Iron team news
Rob Jones (illness), Martyn Woolford (ankle) and David Mirfin (leg) are all fit after missing the win over Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night. Left-back Jim McNulty (ankle) is out for three weeks, while winger Garry Thompson (groin) will miss the next two months.
Palace team news
The London side gave Edgar Davids a debut in their midweek Carling Cup loss to Portsmouth, this match would be his first Championship match. George Burley, the Palace manager, has Claude Davis (ban) back while Darren Ambrose and Neil Danns are expected to return after slight knocks. Julian Bennt (hamstring) and David Wright (calf) are definitely out.
Established: 1905
Nickname: Eagles
Historical achievements: Palace's most famous achievement was reaching the 1990 FA Cup final, where they took Manchester United to a replay. They twice lead the original final, which finished 3-3 after extra-time, but were defeated 1-0 in the second match. The trophy was significant for English football as it ended speculation that Alex Ferguson's job as United manager was at risk due to league results. The early nineties was their most succesful period domestically, their third place in Division One in 1991 was their highest finish. They were founder members of the Premier League, but relegated after two seasons. They have won promotion back to the top flight three times since, but never managed to avoid immediate relegation. Financial problems saw them go into administration and a takeover was completed this summer.
Manager: George Burley
Stats and figures
The Iron's home form is actually one of the bet in the Championship - even with last Saturday's loss to Norwich, the Iron have taken 11 points from their last six league games at Glanford Park. There were three wins and two draws in that spell. Palace have only won one of their last six away league outings, drawing four and losing one. Chris Dagnall's two goals against Sheffield Wednesday mean he is now top scorer in all competitions.
Past meetings
There have only been six meetings between United and Palace. Last season's memorable 4-0 success at Selhurst Park was only the second time Scunthorpe have come out victorious, following on from a 1-0 FA Cup third round victory at the Old Showground in 1960. United have never defeated Palace in a league match at Glanford Park, losing 2-1 last season and playing out a goalless draw in November 2007.
Referee
Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire)
Betting
Scunthorpe 13/8 / Draw 9/4 / Crystal Palace 13/8 (Paddy Power)
Competitive English footballl on TV this weekend
Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v Arsenal (Premier League, 12.45pm, Sky Sports 2)
Leicester City v Reading (Championship, 5.20pm, Sky Sports 2)
Manchester United v West Ham United (Premier League, 5.30pm, ESPN)
Sunday: Bolton v Birmingham City (Premier League, 1.30pm, Sky Sports 1)
Aston Villa v Everton (Premier League, 4pm, Sky Sports 1)