The league leaders travel to Selhurst Park to face an in-form Roy Hodgson side on Sunday afternoon.
A defeat to Manchester City could land the Eagles into relegation zone while City, on the other hand, would be looking to extend their lead to 18 points at the top of the table.
Pep Guardiola’s side would be looking to extend their record 18 match unbeaten run in the Premier League when they take on Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon at Selhurst Park. The Etihad outfit have taken an incredible 58 out of 60 possible points this season – a feat which has seen them lead the league table by a massive 15 points just half-way into the season.
Crystal Palace’s unbeaten run of 8 games ended with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Arsenal last week. However the Eagles are flying high and have seen the likes of Zaha and Townsend back to their best. A fiery competition could be expected with goals aplenty.
Team News & Tactics
Manchester City
Captain Vincent Company is out with a calf injury while Jesus could replace Aguero in the starting line-up. Aguero has hit a barren patch in front of goal and has been linked to the likes of Real Madrid and PSG, with Guardiola keen on bringing Alexis Sanchez as his replacement in January. Mendy, Stones and Delph meanwhile remain on injury-list.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Mangala, Otamendi, Delph; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Sterling, Jesus, Sane
Crystal Palace
Manager Roy Hodgson has lamented Palace’s injury problems. He said, “We have a few knocks. There’s no doubt that when I see the players tomorrow there will be several doubtful. Not necessarily serious injuries, but they may be sufficient to keep them out [against] Man City. The squad is not enormous. I know our fans will be back on Sunday to support us in the same way. We’ll put out the best 11 we can and those players will be doing their level best.”
Mamadou Sakho, Damien Delaney and Joel Ward are still injured while Loftus Cheek and Yohan Cabaye could be back in action after suffering minute injury scare in their last week clash against Arsenal.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Speroni; Kelly, Tomkins, Dann, Schlupp; Townsend, Cabaye, Milivojevic, Loftus-Cheek; Benteke, Zaha
Key Stats
- Crystal Palace have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Man City.
- April 2015 was the last time that Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in any competition.
- Sergio Aguero has netted just four in his last 12, failing to score on eight occasions in this run.
- Manchester City have won their last two games against Crystal Palace by a 5-0 scoreline.
- A loss to City could see Eagles drop to relegation zone.
Player to watch
Wilfried Zaha
The Ivory Coast International has been back to his best after a knee injury kept him out of Palace lineup for almost 2 months. The 2-time Crystal Palace Player of the Year has seen his stock rise since and is a transfer target for the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal.
Even City manager Guardiola has admitted the impact Zaha has made on the Eagles side and says he’s “really impressed with what Zaha is able to do.” The former Manchester United player boasts an impressive 4 goals and 1 assist in 14 club appearances this season.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 2-4 Manchester City
City have plundered a record 61 goals in just 20 outings this season and expect to continue the same when they visit Crystal Palace. Sterling has seen a transformation under Guardiola this season and has outscored even Sergio Aguero – with 13 goals to his kitty. Jesus has 8 goals to his name, while De Bryune and Sane have 6.
Zaha and Townsend have shown flashes of brilliance and are expected to be on score-sheet, however it seems City can’t stop scoring and it’s going to be just one of the many games City have run riot on.