After taking a big step forward in their title hopes, Manchester City head to Selhurst Park on Saturday morning to pick up another three points and put pressure on the title rivals playing away from home. Consistency, form and goals are all needed from players individually before heading to Madrid but when you are playing at Selhurst Park struggling to create many chances, it’s only the three points that will matter.

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Starting Point

Notable Injuries:

• For Manchester City, Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake are both set to miss out the match whilst Ederson is a doubt.

• For Crystal Palace, they are without Sam Johnstone, Cheick Doucoure, Rob Holding, Marc Guehi, Odsonne Edouard, Chris Richards, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, and Matheus Franca. Olise is available for 15 - 20 minutes in the second half.

Interesting Stats:

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last nine games at Selhurst Park in all competitions.

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last six games away from home in the Premier League.

• Under Glasner, Crystal Palace have only conceded more than 1 goal once (Spurs 3-1) in his six games since taking over.

Crystal Palace vs Manchester City Preview

Premier League

General Thoughts:

• Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are two players I expect to return against Crystal Palace after being rested midweek. Minutes in the legs and ideally get them both on the score-sheet before the big game against Madrid on Tuesday.

• Grealish and Doku were key to the result against Aston Villa, opening up the space in the middle by stretching the pitch. Expect that will be needed again with Crystal Palace sitting deep and compact. They don’t allow carries into the penalty box so bring in two of the best at doing that in the Premier League.

• John Stones will be needed at the Madrid game midweek so to start that game, he’ll need minutes against Palace either off the bench or starting. My feeling is he will be brought on in the second half for that.

• Ortega to keep his place in the starting lineup, Ederson is still down as a doubt but there should be no concern in our back up. Very good performances of late. If Ederson was fit I would pick him.

Thread on comparisons between Ederson and Ortega 👇

• Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva are the two I would take the opportunity to rest against Palace and worst case come on for the final 20-30 minutes. Looking ahead to Madrid, they need to be fresh and will be key in that away leg. We would still have other options on the bench in Alvarez and Bobb to impact the game as well.

• Rico Lewis to continue starting for City whilst Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker are out injured. I wouldn’t risk Stones from that start at RB as mentioned and with the Palace low block Rico will be important in and around their box to create chances.

• Mateo Kovacic could be involved in this game, with Bernardo Silva being rested and providing some control of the tempo with Rodri. Let Rico advance without too much concern on the transition. Both Kovacic and De Bruyne on the pitch to pick out Haaland.

• A start for either Alvarez or Bobb would not surprise me either, there is going to be rotation in this match and those two have the quality to make a difference on Saturday.

Opposition Setup:

• Glasner was appointed late in February this year and despite less than ideal results Palace have started to lay out an identity, keeping the games very tight whilst learning his system.

• Employing a 3-4-2-1 which uses the wingbacks to sit in for a more defensive set up, be aggressive to counter press and push forward on a counter attack. In the long term, his team will be very flexible in their approach during the game and for different opposition.

• Away from their manager and just looking at Palace in the Premier League this season, it’s going to be tough for City to create a lot of chances. Crystal Palace have allowed the 5th least xGA against them this season, 6th least shots on target against them and 3rd least carries into the penalty area allowed.
  
  They don’t let you take many shots, carry into the box and get good chances against their keeper. All whilst struggling themselves to score goals. 16 other teams in the Premier League have scored more goals than Palace this season.
  
  If City want to come away with three points they need to be ruthless and put away what few chances they’ll be allowed to get.

• One last point to make is Olise coming on late, he’s able to make 15-20 minutes in the second half and as we saw in the game at the Etihad he can cause problems. City need the game wrapped up and in control by then.

Ones to Watch: 

• Manchester City: I’d expect both Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne to return to the starting eleven but against Palace it’s the two wingers in Grealish and Doku that I’d watch in this game. Were key to stretching Villa out from their compact shape and Palace will be even more dug in on Saturday.

• Crystal Palace: Adam Wharton and Eberichi Eze are both players that have impressed for different reasons. Wharton making his move to the Premier League and immediately slotting into the team is not an easy feat. All around midfielder that can win the ball as well as he can spot a progressive pass. Eze has the ability to hurt Manchester City in tight spaces, dribbling at our back four and finishing outside the box. Set pieces threat as well. It’ll be a tight game which means it only takes one bit of magic from Palace to make picking up the three points very difficult for City.

Predicted Lineup: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol, Rodri, Kovacic, De Bruyne, Grealish, Doku, Haaland

Predicted Score: Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Manchester City

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