Crystal Palace v Man City – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Crystal Palace host Man City in the early kickoff on Saturday. The Eagles have won just twice in their last 12 matches and face a City side with 18 wins in their last 21 fixtures. Pep Guardiola’s side have kept four clean sheets in a row at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace Form

After a run of two wins in 13 league matches, Roy Hodgson was replaced as coach by Oliver Glasner. The coaching made a small difference as the next five matches saw just one defeat. Palace drew 1-1 at Everton and beat Burnley 3-0 at home. A 3-1 loss at Tottenham saw them 1-0 up after 75 minutes in a match they only managed one shot on target.

Successive 1-1 draws followed. They conceded in the dying moments in a home stalemate vs Luton Town. A draw at Nottingham Forest again saw a lead surrendered. Their last match saw a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth as they leaked in the 79th minute. Palace produced just 0.19 xG and three shots.

Crystal Palace Team News

Oliver Glasner is missing some big players for this match. Sam Johnstone has had elbow surgery in goal and both Marc Guehi and Rob Holding are injured in defence. Chris Richards will also play no part at the back.

Cheick Doucoure remains out long-term in central midfield. Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise are absent in attack and Matheus Franca is a major doubt. Jefferson Lerma may have to cover at the back once again.

Crystal Palace Motivation

Palace have been pretty defensive under their new coach, playing a back five without the ball. In many matches, they’ve had just a couple of shot attempts.

A draw here would be a massive result and they will play for one from the start. Realistically, they will want to keep the damage down.

Man City Form

City are in great form with 18 wins in 21 matches. They’ve had three off performances in draws vs Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Before a 0-0 draw at home vs the Gunners last weekend, they had been outshot 12-3 at Anfield in a 1-1 draw and won 3-1 at home to FC Copenhagen.

A 2-0 win at home against Newcastle in the FA Cup came before the FIFA break. Against Arsenal, City only managed one shot on target. They were back to their best in midweek against a depleted Aston Villa. They won 4-1 with a Phil Foden hattrick, 3.46 xG, and 25 shots.

Man City Team News

John Stones has been an unused sub for two matches and is not likely to start here either. The match comes too soon for Ederson in goal. Both Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake are injured in defence so Rico Lewis could be the inverted right back.

Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland played no minutes in midweek. Both are set to return to the XI here. Jack Grealish is the most likely to drop down to the bench.

Man City Motivation

City will feel that no points can be dropped, and certainly not at struggling Crystal Palace.

They will go all out to win and to boost their goal difference a bit. Having said that, Guardiola won’t want his players to use too much energy.

Key Stats

Man City have won 18 of their last 21 matches.

City’s Erling Haaland has scored 10 goals in his last 10 matches.

Man City’s Phil Foden has scored 9 goals in his last 9 EPL matches.

Crystal Palace have failed to score in their last 4 home matches vs Man City.

Crystal Palace have won just 2 of their last 12 matches.

Palace have scored 1 or fewer goals in 7 of their last 8 league matches

Verdict

Based on the lack of attacking thrust shown by Palace of late, a City win to nil is written all over this match. Backing Haaland to get back to scoring ways is one option or Foden to continue his hot streak.

Best Bet: Man City win to zero at 2.10

Alternate Bet: Man City win (-1 handicap) at 1.90

Value Bet: Man City win (-2 handicap) at 3.25

Goalscorer Tip: Haaland to score first at 3.50 or Foden to score anytime at 2.65

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis