Manchester City will hope to build on the comeback win over Bournemouth when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Friday.
The 2026/27 Premier League season continues this week with Gameweek 2 as we wrap up the proceedings for August. The second round of fixtures will start in the capital with Crystal Palace vs Manchester City at Selhurst Park on Friday.
Crystal Palace would have hoped to kick-start the Pierre Sage era with a bang despite a mixed bag of a pre-season campaign under the new head coach. However, the South London outfit produced an underwhelming performance, losing 2-0 to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
On the other hand, Manchester City barely played any pre-season games and rightly looked off the pace when they faced Bournemouth last weekend. While the Citizens eventually came from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 win deep into injury time, they had some moments of concern, giving their future opponents a few pointers to get the better of Enzo Maresca’s team.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Manchester City cruise to a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, with Erling Haaland scoring a match-winning brace and Phil Foden also finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Crystal Palace
Pierre Sage has new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Crystal Palace head coach will be bereft of the services of two first-team players vs Manchester City on Friday.
Chadi Riad is the latest absentee after sustaining a minor knee injury against Everton last weekend. Additionally, Ismaila Sarr, whose future remains uncertain amid relentless links with Galatasaray, is also unavailable due to an issue with his groin.
Dean Henderson is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Crystal Palace lining up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of him vs Manchester City on Friday. The central defensive unit will feature Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards, and Takehiro Tomiyasu, who will replace the injured Riad. Meanwhile, Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the three centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton. Finally, Jorgen Strand Larsen should replace Jean-Philippe Mateta as the central striker amid the Frenchman’s issues behind the scenes. Eddie Nketiah and Yeremy Pino should complete the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Munoz, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; Yeremy, Strand Larsen, Nketiah
Manchester City
Like his counterpart in the Crystal Palace dugout, Enzo Maresca has a new issue to worry about ahead of the trip to Selhurst Park. The Manchester City head coach will be without one first-team player on Friday.
Maresca had been sweating over Elliot Anderson’s fitness after the English international struggled with cramps against Bournemouth. However, he will be fit and available to take on Crystal Palace. However, Jeremy Doku remains in the treatment room due to a calf injury.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Manchester City lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Crystal Palace. The backline will feature Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Marc Guehi, and Josko Gvardiol.
As for the midfield unit, Nico O’Reilly should line up alongside Anderson in the double pivot, with Phil Foden reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Erling Haaland will spearhead the Manchester City attack, with Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki completing the numbers in the offensive unit. Cherki and Foden will regularly interchange positions based on the game state.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, O’Reilly; Cherki, Foden, Semenyo; Haaland
Key Stats
- Crystal Palace have won just two of their last 22 Premier League games vs Manchester City (D5 L15), and are winless in nine against them since a 2-0 away win in October 2021. The Citizens are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League away games against Crystal Palace (W8 D3) since a 2-1 loss in April 2015 under Manuel Pellegrini.
- Crystal Palace are without a win in their last eight Premier League games (D3 L5). Since returning to the top flight in 2013/14, only in February last season (9), March 2023 (12), and April 2016 (14) have the Eagles endured longer winless runs in the competition.
- Manchester City have only won four of their 10 Premier League away matches in 2026 (D5 L1), while Enzo Maresca failed to win any of his final three away league games with Chelsea (D2 L1).
- Only Brighton and Hove Albion (3.54) recorded a higher open play xG in Gameweek 1 of the 2026/27 Premier League season than Crystal Palace (1.96), with the Eagles the biggest underachievers last season (-12.9) between goals from open play (22 – excluding own goals) and open play xG (34.9).
- Erling Haaland has scored in all five Premier League games against Crystal Palace, netting eight goals in total. It is the best 100% scoring record a player has against an opponent in the competition, while the only players to net in each of their first six against a side are Raheem Sterling and Mohamed Salah (both vs Bournemouth).
Player to Watch
Rayan Cherki
While Erling Haaland, Adam Wharton, and Eddie Nketiah were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Rayan Cherki as the Player to Watch for Friday’s Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park.
Since joining Manchester City, 12 of Cherki’s Premier League assists have come from open play, including the one for Josko Gvardiol’s winner against Bournemouth. Since the start of last season, the Frenchman leads the league for open-play assists, while he is second for open-play expected assists (8.2) and through balls (30).
After making an impression off the bench in Gameweek 1, he has staked his claim for a starting berth. With such creative prowess, it is hardly surprising that he is one of the top transfer tips for FPL heading into Gameweek 2.
Prediction
Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester City
The head-to-head battle between Crystal Palace and Manchester City has often been one-sided, with Palace’s 1-0 win in the 2025 FA Cup final a rare victory for the South London club. Both Premier League meetings ended in a 3-0 win for City last season, and their away record against the Eagles is exceptional.
While the Citizens have been under-par on their travels this year, Crystal Palace’s defensive deficiencies will be the key differentiator on Friday. While the home side will capitalise on City’s weaknesses, they will not have enough quality on either end to take anything from the game. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland will finally join the party, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Enzo Maresca and his charges.
