Following their recent triumph against Aston Villa, Manchester City have the opportunity to ascend to the top of the Premier League table temporarily by securing a victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester City, colloquially referred to as “The Citizens,” are motivated to avenge their prior encounter with Crystal Palace. In the previous fixture held at the Etihad Stadium in December, Manchester City squandered a two-goal advantage, resulting in a 2-2 draw against the Eagles.
Match preview
Oliver Glasner, assuming the managerial role at Crystal Palace following the departure of Roy Hodgson in late February, has garnered a total of five points from his initial five Premier League encounters. Noteworthy among these results is a decisive 3-0 victory over Burnley, followed by two draws and two defeats.
Of these outcomes, notable are the solitary points secured in 1-1 draws against Luton Town and Nottingham Forest, preceding a narrow 1-0 loss to Bournemouth marked by a 79th-minute strike by Justin Kluivert. Despite registering merely two victories in ten league fixtures since the inception of the new year, Crystal Palace sustains a promising position to uphold their top-tier status for a twelfth consecutive season. Presently positioned fourteenth in the league table, they maintain an eight-point cushion from relegation, with a match in hand over eighteenth-placed Luton.
The narrative further unfolds with Palace’s evolving performance at their home ground, Selhurst Park. After enduring a lackluster start, with only one win in their first nine home league matches, the team has since rallied, accruing ten points from their subsequent five fixtures. Impressively, they have secured victory in four top-flight encounters on home turf, consistently netting three goals per game.
However, challenges persist, notably evident in their recent encounters with Manchester City, wherein Palace has failed to score in their last four home meetings against the formidable opponents. Luka Milivojevic’s goal in a 3-1 defeat back in April 2019 remains the last instance of Palace finding the net against the Citizens at home.
Transitioning to Manchester City’s recent performances, the team rebounded from back-to-back draws against Liverpool and Arsenal with a commanding 4-1 triumph over Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. Phil Foden’s impressive hat-trick bolstered City’s dominance, extending their unbeaten Premier League streak to fifteen matches.
Despite this formidable record, Pep Guardiola’s side trails behind Arsenal by a single point at the summit of the table, with Liverpool in close pursuit. Looking ahead, City’s upcoming fixture against Crystal Palace presents an opportunity to maintain their title aspirations, especially given their commendable track record of not losing any of their last eight Premier League away encounters against Palace.
While City’s defensive prowess in London may raise some concerns, as evidenced by their limited clean sheets in recent away fixtures against capital-based opponents, the prospect of securing victory serves as a pivotal morale boost ahead of their impending Champions League clash with Real Madrid.
In summary, as the Premier League season progresses, both Crystal Palace and Manchester City are poised to capitalize on upcoming fixtures to solidify their respective objectives, whether it be retaining top-tier status or pursuing championship glory.
Team News
Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards was absent from the recent match against Bournemouth due to a knee injury, adding his name to the list of sidelined players including Sam Johnstone (elbow), Cheick Doucoure (Achilles), Marc Guehi (knee), Rob Holding (foot), Jesurun Rak-Sakyi (thigh), and Matheus Franca (groin).
On a positive note, star winger Michael Olise, who has been out of action since February 3 with a thigh injury, has returned to training and may be available for selection in the upcoming match. However, it is improbable that he will start over Jordan Ayew or Eberechi Eze.
Jefferson Lerma deputized as a left-sided center-back in the absence of Richards against Bournemouth and is expected to continue in a back three alongside Joachim Andersen and Joel Ward. Additionally, the midfield partnership of Will Hughes and Adam Wharton is likely to be maintained.
In terms of Manchester City’s lineup, defensive players Kyle Walker (hamstring) and Nathan Ake (unspecified) are anticipated to be sidelined due to injury, while goalkeeper Ederson (muscle) is uncertain to feature.
Although John Stones has been on the bench for the last two games, he might see some game time against Palace. However, a starting position appears improbable, thus the back four of Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol may remain unchanged.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, who were rested in the previous fixture, could return to the starting lineup against Palace. De Bruyne, in particular, has a commendable record against the Eagles, having scored four goals in his last two encounters with them. However, he enters Saturday’s match after a spell of 12 out of 17 appearances without finding the net for club and country.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Ward, Andersen, Lerma; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Ayew, Mateta, Eze
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku; Haaland