Man City hoping to heap more misery on struggling Crystal Palace
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace - 16/12/2023
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Manchester City will aim to keep pace with the early frontrunners when they entertain Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
As we head into Matchday 17, the reigning champions find themselves fourth in the table – four points shy of leaders Liverpool.
At the opposite end of the standings, Crystal Palace occupy 15th place. Not only are the Eagles 17 points behind Man City, but they are also just seven points outside the relegation zone.
Following a 2-1 victory over Luton Town last weekend, Man City claimed a 3-2 win against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Consequently, Pep Guardiola’s side progressed to the knockout phase with a 100% record, having won all six of their UCL group games.
Between mid-November and early December, City endured a four-match winless run in the Premier League, recording three draws and one loss in the process.
Still, the champions remain within touching distance of table-topping Liverpool, and they have also scored more goals than anyone else this season.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, suffered a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool last weekend, despite taking the lead through a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty in the 57th minute.
Roy Hodgson’s side have now failed to win any of their previous five matches, suffering four defeats during that sequence.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Eagles have managed to win just one of their last nine Premier League encounters, recording two draws and six losses in that time.
To make matters worse, only bottom club Sheffield United have netted fewer goals than Crystal Palace’s 15 this term.
Head-to-head: Manchester City have lost only one of their last nine Premier League meetings with Crystal Palace, who snatched a 2-0 win at the Etihad in 2021.
On top of that, the Eagles have won just two of their previous 16 league matches against Guardiola’s side, suffering 11 defeats along the way.
Team news: Kevin De Bruyne remains a long-term injury absentee for Man City, while Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku are doubts for Saturday’s clash.
On the flip side, Crystal Palace’s injury list contains Cheick Doucoure, Rob Holding, Dean Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Sam Johnstone and Odsonne Edouard.
Given that Palace have lost four of their last five matches – and six of their previous nine – Hodgson’s men look set to endure a tough afternoon at the Etihad.
Forebet predicts that Manchester City will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching Crystal Palace.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
EPL
652312
1
3 - 0
3.13
10°
1.17
1.17
7.00
15.00
no
no
no
2 - 2(1 - 0)
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