What an intriguing fourth match week it’s gonna be!
Manchester City are all set to host Crystal Palace at the Etihad by 15:00 UK time in their second home game of the season.
The Sky Blues pulled off a massive showdown at St. James’ Park last weekend; levelling a two-goal deficit to retain their unbeaten run.
While Manchester City still hold fast the second position of the table, their opponents, Crystal Palace have been in impressive form over the past couple of weeks. They held rivals, Liverpool to a draw at Anfield and tore apart Aston Villa in a 3-1 contest.
Ahead of must-watch display at the Etihad tomorrow, let’s take a peek into a few facts and stats:
Crystal Palace were one of four teams Manchester City failed to beat in the Premier League last season (D1 L1), while the Eagles were the only side the Citizens failed to score against last term.
Crystal Palace have taken seven points from their last four Premier League away games against Man City (W2 D1 L1), as many as they had in their previous 15 league visits to the Citizens (W1 D4 L10).
Following their 2-0 win in this exact fixture last season, Crystal Palace are looking to become just the second team to win as many as three away league games against Man City boss Pep Guardiola, after Manchester United. Man Utd are also the only side to win consecutive away league games against sides managed by the Spaniard.
Manchester City have found themselves two goals behind in three of their last five Premier League matches, as many as in their previous 72 matches combined. They’ve avoided defeat in all three of those games (W1 D2), having lost their 35 previous league matches when going two goals down.
Crystal Palace drew 1-1 at Liverpool in their first away league game this season. The Eagles are the second side in Premier League history to play their first two away games of a campaign against the previous season’s top two sides, after Burnley in 2017-18, who beat Chelsea before drawing at Spurs.
MANCHESTER CITY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Goalkeeper: Ederson
Defenders: Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo
Midfielders: Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne
Forwards: Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Haalanf
CRYSTAL PALACE PREDICTED LINE-UP
Goalkeeper: Guaita
Defenders: Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell
Midfielders: Schlupp, Eze, Doucoure
Forwards: Zaha, Ayew, Edouard
Manchester City’s injury list pile on as they saw Nathan Ake forced off the pitch last week. It gets further complicated with Luke Mbete and Jack Grealish further lengthening the list, apart from Aymeric Laporte who is gradually recovering after a knee surgery.
From a Crystal Palace point of view, Nathan Ferguson, Jack Butland, James Tomkins and James McArthur are expected to be sidelined from the travelling squad.
PREDICTED RESULT: 3-1
Despite Palace’s impressive record against Guardiola’s side, and also their top form at the moment, Manchester City are still favorites to win the contest especially after dropping points last weekend. However, Vieira’s men certainly won’t go down without a fight considering the fact that Wilfried Zaha has begun the season on a very bright note.