CRYSTAL PALACE
V
MANCHESTER CITY
April 6th, 2015; 20.00 GMT
Selhurst Park, South Norwood, London
*****
Team News & Tactical Brief
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palacea s appointment of Alan Pardew mid-season has turned out to be a wonder stroke for the club. Prior to his appointment, the team had won just three of 20 games but since early January, Palace have doubled their victories in half the time. 19 points out of a possible 30 will certainly vindicate his decision to leave Newcastle, who after their loss to Sunderland, are a place below Palace in the table, and a point behind. The goal for Pardew will be to collect as many points till the end of the season and finish as high as possible and sneaking into the top half of the table and finishing there will prove to be a very successful season.
Alan Pardew has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Monday’s late kick-off against Manchester City. Mile Jedinak will be out as he is serving a ban, while Marouane Chamakh, Fraizer Campbell and Jordon Mutch remain sidelined.
A win over Manchester City will mean Palace will win three league games in a row for the first time this season. Even though it will be a tough ask, considering Manchester Citya s remarkable record against Palace – Manchester City have won the last five Premier League meetings, and recorded seven victories in a row in all competitions a the home team will be inspired to do well and try and blow a dent to Citya s hopes of having a comfortable end to the season.
For the home side to do well in the game, they will have to ensure City are not given space to exploit as David Silva can weave his magic if hea s given even the slightest opportunity. Pardew will be relying on Glenn Murray, who has done well recently and scored four goals in his last four games
Possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Speroni, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Ledley, McArthur, Zaha, Puncheon, Bolasie, Murray.
Manchester City
Manchester Citya s hopes of finishing second or being the only direct title competitors to Chelsea cannot be realized after Arsenal and Manchester United have come into spectacular form and are poised to compete with Pellegrinia s team right till the end. It is going to be a matter of pride for the Citizens to want to finish in the second place, as Chelsea looks more than comfortable to see themselves out till the end. It isna t going to be easy since Wengera s Arsenal and van Gaala s Manchester United are both in confident, upbeat mood. A win against Palace is all the more important to ensure that City remain in command and also go with confidence to Old Trafford next weekend.
As far as injuries as concerned, City look to be boosted by the return of Yaya Toure who missed City’s victory over West Brom a fortnight ago with an Achilles injury, but has since played for Ivory Coast and is fit. James Milner, who looks set to depart in the summer, is also expected to be available despite being troubled by a knee injury in recent weeks.
Despite their good recent record against Crystal Palace in recent times, City need to be vary of the home team as Pellegrinia s men have shown on many instances this season that they dona t perform well against lower oppositions, as was recently illustrated against Burnley.
For City to come out on top, Sergio Aguero and David Silva will have to do well along with others like Bony, Nasri and Navas. Aguero has three goals and three assists in the last five games but the Argentinean has been far from his best this season. There is a reason why people believe that for City to perform a miracle in the league at the business end of the season, Aguero will have to be at his lethal best.
Possible starting lineup (4-2-2-2) Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy; Silva Fernando, Toure, Nasri; Bony, Aguero
Match Stats
- Manchester City could lose three consecutive away matches in the Premier League for the first time in four years.
- City have only won four of their last 10 league fixtures (W4, D3, L3). They have earned four points fewer than Palace over that period.
- Crystal Palace have gained a league-high 18 points from losing positions this season prior to the latest round of matches.
- After scoring one goal in 19 Premier League games, Glenn Murray has scored four in his last four.
Players to watch out for:
Glenn Murray (Crystal Palace); Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Match Prediction:
Manchester City 2 Crystal Palace 0
