Manchester City will look to close the gap to league leaders Liverpool when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Manchester City picked up a comprehensive victory over Nottingham Forest in their last outing, and they will look to grind out all three points vs Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
The reigning Premier League champions were going through a rough patch before the win over Nottingham Forest, and the win will have given them some much-needed confidence boost. Pep Guardiola’s men will look to put together a winning run now.
Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are 17th in the league table, but they have shown improvement in recent weeks. They are coming into this game on the back of a win over Ipswich Town, and they are unbeaten in five of the six league games. It will be interesting to see if they can pull off a positive result at home against the defending champions.
Manchester City have an impressive record vs Crystal Palace, and the visitors will certainly fancy their chances here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace will be without Chadi Riad due to a knee injury, Matheus Franca due to a groin injury, and Adam Wharton due to a groin injury. Meanwhile, Rob Holding has been banished from the first-team squad.
Crystal Palace will shape up in a 3-4-1-2 formation vs Manchester City, with Dean Henderson in goal. In the back three, Trevoh Chalobah will start alongside Maxence Lacroix and Marc Guehi. Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the wing-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch.
As for the midfield unit, Will Hughes and Cheick Doucoure will add creativity and defensive cover to the side in the middle of the park. Ismaila Sarr will start in the hole, and he will look to link up, with Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah in the attack.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Henderson; Chalobah, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Doucoure, Mitchell; Sarr; Mateta, Nketiah
Manchester City
Manchester City will be without Rodri due to his knee injury. Oscar Bobb is out with a leg injury, Mateo Kovacic misses out with a knock, John Stones has an ankle injury, Nathan Ake has a thigh injury, Phil Foden misses out with illness and Manuel Akanji has a knock as well.
Manchester City will shape up in a 4-1-4-1 formation vs Crystal Palace, with Ederson Moraes in goal. Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol will be deployed as the full-backs, and they will look to help out defensively and hit Crystal Palace on the break. Kyle Walker will start at the heart of the defence alongside Ruben Dias.
As for the midfield unit, Ilkay Gundogan will start as the deep-lying playmaker, and he will look to add defensive cover and composure to the side. Kevin De Bruyne will be deployed in the advanced midfield role along with Bernardo Silva, and they will look to create goalscoring opportunities for their teammates. Savinho and Jeremy Doku will start on the flanks. Erling Haaland will lead the line for Manchester City.
Probable Lineup (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Lewis, Walker, Dias, Gvardiol; Gundogan; Savinho, De Bruyne, Silva, Doku; Haaland
Key Stats
19 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two teams.
Manchester City have lost four of their last five Premier League matches.
Crystal Palace are unbeaten in five of the last six Premier League matches.
Manchester City have won five of the last six matches against Crystal Palace.
Both teams have conceded at least once in five of their last six outings in all competitions.
Play to Watch
Kevin De Bruyne
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The Belgian international midfielder is a key player to watch out for. The veteran playmaker was outstanding against Nottingham Forest, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities vs Crystal Palace as well.
Manchester City will need him to step up and produce a strong performance here if they want to grind out a positive away result. He could make a defining impact in the final third with his creativity, vision, technical ability, and goalscoring ability.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City
Although the defending champions have not been their best in recent weeks, they have a formidable squad, and they will be expected to grind out all three points. Manchester City are under pressure right now, and the players will be desperate to produce a strong performance.
Crystal Palace will look to take advantage of their vulnerabilities, and they are likely to put up a strong fight. However, Manchester City has enough firepower to find a way past them. A narrow victory for the away side is on the cards. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 victory for Pep Guardiola and his charges.