United Miss Out On Windfall

Eagles midfielder Tony Popovic has been called up to the Australian squad for their clash with the Solomon Islands on September 3 and as the game will take place on a different continent, FIFA rules state a five-day release period.

The game was due to be shown on Sky next week but that has now been scrapped.

Kevin Blackwell said: "We were all geared up for the game and were looking forward to it. Palace have just come down and it would have been another good early test for us, coming on the back of Norwich and Wolves. It's disappointing to lose games at this early stage, but there's nothing we can do about it."