Manchester City will try to get back to the top position when they host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in the Premier League.
The English champions survived a scare in the last match as a high flying Newcastle United almost inflicted damage on them at St James’ Park last weekend.
Riding on a brilliant freekick of former Manchester City player Kieran Trippier Newcastle had taken a two goal lead and were on course towards a famous win over Pep Guardiola’s side but two goals from Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva calmed things down and both the teams shared the spoils.
A win would have been ideal for the champions as they would storm ahead of Liverpool by quite a mile as last season’s runners up tasted an uncharacteristic defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
City were also involved in a midweek friendly where a number of first team players took their strides on the pitch and the manager will be aware of the fatigue his team could face on Saturday.
Julian Alvarez, Cole Palmer and Riyad Mahrez scored a piece as the Citizens played a 3-3 draw with the Catalans and they will have a tough task to cut out against a disciplined Palace side.
Palace humiliated Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte in the reverse fixture at Etihad as Wilfried Zaha tormented the defensive pair throughout the match.
Zaha scored one and set up the second as Palace penetrated City’s high line with their own approach. Guardiola will be aware of the threat his opponent poses and we could see a different approach this time.
Palace impressed in the last two outings as they held the mighty Liverpool to a 1-1 draw and had a brilliant 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in the last match.
Zaha warmed up in style for the big match as he netted a brace against Villa and he would be licking his chops after noting down City’s performance against Newcastle.
Palace looked convincing so far and Patrick Vieira has carved down a niche since arriving in South London. The former Arsenal midfielder secured a brilliant win over City last season and he would definitely want to build on that.
Palace’s run against City in recent times has been quite eventful as they had a number of successful results and City will likely take a cautious approach against the London side.
Consistency will be the key this season, and Palace hopes to stabilise their current form with a good display against the English champions.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
Date: 27th August, 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
Team News
Manchester City
Aymeric Laporte is facing a long time on the sidelines while Jack Grealish and Nathan Ake are facing a race against time to be fit before this match.
Crystal Palace
Vieira will likely name an unchanged lineup that won the match against Aston Villa
Manchester City Possible Lineup
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan; Bernardo, Haaland, Foden
Crystal Palace Possible Lineup
Guaita; Ward, Anderson, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucoure, Eze; Ayew, Edouard, Zaha
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace Fantasy XI No. 1
Ederson; Dias, Guehi, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Doucoure,Eze; Zaha, Haaland, Bernardo
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace Fantasy XI No. 2
Ederson; Dias, Guehi, Cancelo, Ward; De Bruyne, Rodri, Eze; Zaha, Haaland, Bernardo
