Will the Eagles remain winless in 2023?
In the motherland of football, the current defending champions are still only in the role of the hunter. The Guardiola eleven is five points behind the team of his former co-coach Mikel Arteta. This weekend, the Skyblues could go ahead and increase the pressure on the Gunners. However, an away win in London is a prerequisite for this. In the Selhurst district, odds of 1.40 are offered on the visitors in the clash between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
The timing of the clash against the heavy favourites is a positive one, as Manchester City must also look ahead to the Champions League second leg. After the 1-1 draw in Leipzig, the quarter-final ticket is by no means assured. Nevertheless, predictions on Crystal Palace against Manchester City are discouraged. Quality, recent form, head-to-head – arguments for the Vieira eleven are de facto non-existent.
The home side are also in desperate need of points. Twelfth place in the table looks comfortable, but basically the relegation battle begins for the Eagles. The “David-versus-Goliath” match is the evening game this weekend, kick-off is at 18:30.
Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form
During the Roy Hodgson era, Eagles games were tough fare for fans of modern football. Ultra-defensive football as well as hardly any possession were part of the Eagles’ game, but it kept the underdogs in the Premier League. With the arrival of former World Cup winner Patrick Vieira, the philosophy became more attacking, although there is no sign of it this season. After 25 matchdays, the team has 27 points, which is one point more than last year, but the offensive is almost non-existent. Wilfried Zaha & Co. have scored a meagre 21 goals so far this season. This is the worst figure since the 2013/14 season (18 goals then).
Unwon in nine league games
In light of recent developments, alarm bells must be ringing in the capital. At times, the Eagles have been in the safe midfield of the league, but 2023 has been a disappointment so far. Crystal Palace are the only Premier League team still waiting for a full success in 2023. After ending 2022 with a win over Bournemouth, Vieira’s side have gone nine games without a win (five draws, four defeats).
In those nine games, Crystal Palace scored just four goals. A goal against the title contenders from Manchester would therefore already be a success. However, the prediction between Crystal Palace and Manchester City is that both teams will not be able to score at least one goal. After all, Vieira’s side have failed to fire a single shot on target in four games this season. Most recently, there was no shot on goal from the Eagles against either Liverpool (0-0) or Aston Villa (0-1).
Last games played by Crystal Palace:
Premier League
04/03/2023 – Aston Villa 1 – 0 Crystal Palace
26/02/2023 – Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Liverpool FC
18/02/2023 – Brentford 1 – 1 Crystal Palace
11/02/2023 – Crystal Palace 1 – 1 Brighton
04/02/2023 – Manchester United 2 – 1 Crystal Palace
Manchester City – Statistics & current form
The successful defence of the title is no longer in the hands of Pep Guardiola’s side. After 26 of 38 league match days, the gap to Arsenal is five points. This gap is due in particular to their weaker performances as visitors this season. In the 13 appearances as guests so far, the reigning champions have already dropped 15 points. The 7-3-3 record is quite positive, but in comparison to the last few years it is significantly weaker. In the whole of last season, for example, Manchester City only conceded eleven points away from home.
Haaland with a lack of goals?
Ex-Dortmund man Erling Haaland has set a number of records this season, but has had to contend with a bit of a drop in performance in recent weeks. With his 27 goals this season, he is already the most successful City player in Premier League history. The Norwegian scored only twice in the last six league games. However, he has positive thoughts about the Eagles, as the first leg was his first hat-trick. If he achieves the feat again, he will be the first player since Emmanuel Adebayor to score a hat-trick twice in a season against the same opponent (Adebayor did so against Derby County).
However, a landslide victory on Saturday night is not to be expected. Successfully defending the title is of course the priority, but with a decent lead City will surely take it down a notch with the CL second leg against RB Leipzig on Tuesday. Nonetheless, Crystal Palace v Manchester City handicap win odds are considered interesting. 15 of the 18 wins this season have come by at least a two-goal margin for the Skyblues.
Last games played by Manchester City:
Premier League
04/03/2023 – Manchester City 2 – 0 Newcastle
FA Cup
01/03/2023 – Bristol City 0 – 3 Manchester City
Premier League
26/02/2023 – Bournemouth 1 – 4 Manchester City
Champions League Final
23/02/2023 – RB Leipzig 1 – 1 Manchester City
Premier League
18/02/2023 – Nottingham Forest 1 – 1 Manchester City
Crystal Palace – Manchester City Direct comparison / H2H record
In April 2015, the Eagles were able to celebrate a surprising 2-1 win at home against the Skyblues. This was to be the last home victory, as there was no full success in the last seven games. The team from the London borough of Selhurst remained without a goal of their own in five of these seven games (including the most recent three games). These figures suggest that between Crystal Palace and Manchester City, the forecast is that not both teams will score.
The first leg, on the other hand, was an attacking spectacle, with the glaring underdogs even taking a 2-0 lead. However, Erling Braut Haaland’s first Premier League hat-trick turned things around and was the cornerstone of a 4-2 win for the favourites.
Crystal Palace – Manchester City Tip
Statistics fans take note! Given recent games, it’s enough to turn on the TV only for the second half. The last nine goals scored by the Citizens against the Eagles all came in the second half. In this respect, the odds on “more goals in half-time 2” between Crystal Palace and Manchester City are charming at over 2.00. Another argument is the fact that the Vieira eleven has conceded 21 of the 32 goals conceded this season in the second half.
The home side, who have been weak of late, will try to keep the score as close to zero as possible with a very destructive style of play. However, this is by no means promising and sooner or later the individual class of the reigning champions will prevail. Fireworks are not to be expected due to the upcoming CL match, but nevertheless the bet on the handicap win at Crystal Palace against Manchester City is very interesting. 15 of the 18 City wins have been by two or more goals, so betting odds of over 2.00 are attractive. We recommend five units for this bet
