The Champions head to London this weekend to face Crystal Palace, who have, in the past, posed a major problem to them. Manchester City really need to pick up points after a November to forget, while Palace have a whole different set of problems to deal with.
Crystal Palace earned their second win of the season in midweek, beating fellow strugglers Ipswich 1-0. The three points saw them put some much needed distance between them and the others at the bottom of the table.
Manchester City ended a four game losing run in the Premier League in midweek when they beat Nottingham Forest 3-0. Kevin De Bruyne was key to the win, with a goal and an assist. They now need to build on that win if they hope to keep their title hopes alive.
Crystal Palace Predicted Lineup - Dean Henderson; Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix, Trevoh Chalobah; Tyrick Mitchell, Cheick Doucoure, Jefferson Lerma, Daniel Munoz; Eberechi Eze; Ismaila Sarr; Jean-Philippe Mateta
Crystal Palace have no new injury concerns following their midweek game, however there could be a few changes due to the number of fixtures that are coming up. Daichi Kamada could make a return following his suspension, but I think he will only make the bench.
Jean-Philippe Mateta is the club’s top scorer this season, but I’ve been impressed with Daniel Munoz since he arrived in the Premier League last January. He scored a last minute winner against Newcastle last weekend, and I can see him being a problem as Manchester City push high.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup - Stefan Ortega; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis; Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan; Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Savinho; Erling Haaland
Manchester City have two new injury worries ahead of their game this weekend, which means that their backline will be threadbare. Both Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji picked up injuries in midweek which will likely see Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis return to the starting XI.
Erling Haaland is an obvious choice for a player to watch, but I’m going to go for Kevin De Bruyne in this match. The Belgian midfielder has been in and out of Pep Guardiola’s team for the last season and a half, but he made his return in midweek and he looks as good as ever.
Like against most teams, Manchester City’s record against Crystal Palace is very one sided, however Saturday’s hosts don’t always roll over for the Citizens like others do. There is something about Palace that makes it hard for City to have it all go their way, and given their recent form, that could be worrying for fans.
6th Apr 2024 - Crystal Palace 2-4 Manchester City - Premier League
16th Dec 2023 - Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace - Premier League
11th Mar 2023 - Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City - Premier League
27th Aug 2022 - Manchester City 4-2 Crystal Palace - Premier League
14th Mar 2022 - Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City - Premier League
This game is likely to be close because of the history between the two teams and the form that they are both in. Defensively, Crystal Palace are statistically the stronger team, and before their midweek win, scoring goals was a bit of a problem for Manchester City. They need to win here, but I don’t think it will be as easy as many seem to think.
With all of this in mind, our team of professional experts have decided that the best tip for this game is for a Draw. Odds of 13/4 on Highbet means that a £10 bet could see a potential return of £42.50.
(odds subject to change)
Crystal Palace 1-1 Manchester City
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