Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
Saturday’s Premier League action gets underway at Selhurst Park as bottom-half Crystal Palace take on title-bidding Manchester City.
Despite boasting an eight-point lead on the bottom three heading into the last eight rounds, Crystal Palace’s top-flight status could soon come under threat, with the upcoming clash against Man City preceding another high-profile match-up versus Liverpool. Given their disastrous record against the Premier League top-five sides this season (D1, L6), expectations are low around Oliver Glasner’s camp. Adding to Palace’s skepticism, their disappointing four-game winless league run (D2, L2), during which they’ve failed to score more than once per game, casts further doubt on their hopes of staging an upset this weekend. It’s equally significant to note that Palace’s last home league goal against Man City was in 2019, with the Eagles drawing a blank in four consecutive H2Hs at Selhurst Park since then.
Man City can’t let their formidable run in London tuck them into a false sense of security, knowing they spurned a 2-0 lead in December’s reverse fixture to draw 2-2. However, Pep Guardiola’s men are brimming with confidence after a 4-1 midweek triumph against Aston Villa extended their superb unbeaten streak in all competitions to 24 matches (W20, D4). Moreover, the Citizens have picked up 16 of the last 18 available points on the road (W5, D1) despite only registering one clean sheet in that sequence. Defying that trend in London could be tricky, considering they’ve had just one shutout across their last nine top-flight visits to the capital (W5, D1, L3). On a more positive note, their only Premier League journey to London in 2024 yielded a 3-1 romping of Brentford.
Saturday’s Premier League action gets underway at Selhurst Park as bottom-half Crystal Palace take on title-bidding Manchester City.
Despite boasting an eight-point lead on the bottom three heading into the last eight rounds, Crystal Palace’s top-flight status could soon come under threat, with the upcoming clash against Man City preceding another high-profile match-up versus Liverpool. Given their disastrous record against the Premier League top-five sides this season (D1, L6), expectations are low around Oliver Glasner’s camp. Adding to Palace’s skepticism, their disappointing four-game winless league run (D2, L2), during which they’ve failed to score more than once per game, casts further doubt on their hopes of staging an upset this weekend. It’s equally significant to note that Palace’s last home league goal against Man City was in 2019, with the Eagles drawing a blank in four consecutive H2Hs at Selhurst Park since then.
Man City can’t let their formidable run in London tuck them into a false sense of security, knowing they spurned a 2-0 lead in December’s reverse fixture to draw 2-2. However, Pep Guardiola’s men are brimming with confidence after a 4-1 midweek triumph against Aston Villa extended their superb unbeaten streak in all competitions to 24 matches (W20, D4). Moreover, the Citizens have picked up 16 of the last 18 available points on the road (W5, D1) despite only registering one clean sheet in that sequence. Defying that trend in London could be tricky, considering they’ve had just one shutout across their last nine top-flight visits to the capital (W5, D1, L3). On a more positive note, their only Premier League journey to London in 2024 yielded a 3-1 romping of Brentford.
