Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

Manchester City and Crystal Palace will lock horns at the Etihad Stadium in what is seemingly a routine Premier League task for the home side.

A brace of landslide victories over Burnley and Brighton in the wake of a 2-2 away draw with Liverpool has helped Manchester City maintain the pressure on the leading duo. On top of that, the Etihad remains a fortress, as the ‘Citizens’ have won three of their four Premier League fixtures at this venue by an aggregate score of 12-0 this season (D1). Another clear-cut victory is well on the cards, considering Pep Guardiola’s men have suffered just one defeat in their 12 Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace (W9, D2), courtesy of a 3-2 loss at home in December 2018. Gearing up for his 200th Premier League match in charge of City, Guardiola has already won more games in England’s top-flight within his first 200 than any other manager in the competition’s history (W146, D25, L28).

On the other hand, the pressure continues to grow on Patrick Vieira as his side head into proceedings on the back of four Premier League draws in a row. That is part of their five-game winless streak in the competition (D4, L5), which sees Crystal Palace hovering only five points clear of the drop zone. Indeed, the ‘Eagles’ have won just one of their nine Premier League matches this term (D6, L2) and have already earned a reputation as the ‘stalemate kings.’ But Palace’s defensive woes have been plain to see for everyone of late, with the London outfit conceding 2+ goals in each of their last six Premier League travels. They have never let in over 1.5 goals in seven straight top-flight games on the trot. It’s also worth noting that ten of Palace’s 11 league goals scored this season have come in the second half of play.