Will City drop another game against their fearsome opponents?
The away game at Newcastle last weekend would certainly have been a different story for Manchester City. After trailing 3-1 at one point, Guardiola’s team had to be satisfied with the draw. The Citizens also lost their top position in the standings. Next weekend, however, they will be looking to regain the top spot in the table.
If a prediction for a home win in the Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace match on Saturday afternoon comes true, the Sky Blues would take over the place in the sun again, at least for a few hours. Afterwards, however, Arsenal would have the chance to move past again in the derby against Fulham. There is admittedly little doubt that Erling Haaland and Co. will do their own homework, or is there?
Despite being overwhelmingly favourites ahead of the Manchester City vs Crystal Palace game, the home side could find the task harder than expected. After all, the Eagles have been a sort of fearful opponent for the reigning champions in the recent past. Seven points from their last four visits to the Etihad Stadium support this thesis and bring unexpected tension into this duel.
Manchester City – Statistics & current form
Everything went “easy” from Manchester City’s point of view on the first two matchdays. First, they won the away match at West Ham United with 2-0, followed by a 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on their home debut. The aforementioned 3:3 at Newcastle United, however, dimmed the perfect shine somewhat.
This was the third time in the past five Premier League games that Guardiola’s team has found itself two goals behind. By comparison, City have only been two goals down three times in their previous 72 Premier League games. However, it speaks for the defending champions that none of these three matches was lost. Not even against the Magpies.
Manchester City still need to improve, especially defensively
Nevertheless, those in charge of the Sky Blues certainly wouldn’t mind a commanding start-to-finish victory on Saturday afternoon. Those looking to place a bet on that will find odds of 1.65 on double HT1/FT1 between Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
There are two statistics that give hope for a relatively easy win. On the one hand, the Citizens have always scored at least two goals in the past twelve Premier League games (in total: 40 goals). Secondly, Guardiola’s team has lost only two of the past 54 league games that kicked off at 4 p.m. German time on Saturdays (46 wins, six draws). But: Both of the defeats cited came against Crystal Palace, of all teams…
During the week, Manchester City visited Barcelona for a friendly match. With a somewhat improved B eleven, the current second-placed team in the Premier League fought their way to a 3-3 draw, with Riyad Mahrez scoring the equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Several regular players were substituted as the game progressed, but the preparation for the league weekend was not perfect due to the stress of travelling and the lack of training sessions. Perhaps it is therefore advisable to bet on the Eagles scoring at least one goal of their own. Laporte and Phillips will be out. Question marks are behind the fielding of Grealish and Ake.
Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Gündogan; Bernardo, Haaland, Foden
Last matches played by Manchester City:
Club friendlies
25/08/2022 – FC Barcelona 3 – 3 Manchester City
Premier League
21/08/2022 – Newcastle 3 – 3 Manchester City
13/08/2022 – Manchester City 4 – 0 Bournemouth
07/08/2022 – West Ham 0 – 2 Manchester City
Community Shield
30/07/2022 – Liverpool FC 3 – 1 Manchester City
Crystal Palace – Statistics & current form
Sometimes football writes some crazy stories. Crystal Palace, for example, are only the second team in the history of the Premier League to face the previous season’s champions and runners-up respectively in the first two away games of a new season. Even more curiously, the first club to receive this “honour” was Burnley in 2017/18, when the Clarets beat Chelsea and eventually scored at Tottenham.
It cannot be ruled out that this scenario will repeat itself at the weekend, as the Eagles also managed to score a surprise point at Anfield Road in Liverpool on matchday two. Should a double chance X2 bet between Manchester City and Crystal Palace go through again, it would definitely be considered a sensation, although the capital club should not make themselves smaller than they are.
Crystal Palace love a challenge against Man City
French former professional Patrick Vieira’s side have made a good start to the season with four points from three games, losing only 1-0 to leaders Arsenal so far. Apart from that, the “Crystal Palace” took a proud seven points from the past four away games at the Etihad Stadium. Moreover, the Londoners did not lose either the first or second leg against the Citizens in pre-season. The champions did not even manage to score a goal in 180 minutes.
The ninth-placed team’s greatest strength is its attacking switching game. In Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace probably have one of the fastest players in the world in their ranks, who also possesses outstanding finishing quality. In his last 16 Premier League games, the much-courted attacker has scored eleven goals. Because Zaha also scored on matchdays two and three, he could now put the ball in the opponent’s net in three consecutive league games for the first time in over three years.
In addition, there is a traditionally decent defence that will make life difficult for the favourites. Like their opponents, Palace were also challenged during the week. In the EFL Cup, coach Vieira saved almost all of his regular players and was still able to celebrate an unchallenged 2-0 victory at Oxford United. Tomkins, Butland and Ferguson are definitely out. McArthur is questionable.
Predicted line-up of Crystal Palace:
Guaita; Ward, Anderson, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucoure, Eze; Ayew, Edouard, Zaha
Last matches played by Crystal Palace:
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Oxford 0 – 2 Crystal Palace
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Crystal Palace 3 – 1 Aston Villa
16/08/2022 – Liverpool FC 1 – 1 Crystal Palace
06/08/2022 – Crystal Palace 0 – 2 Arsenal FC
Club friendlies
30/07/2022 – Crystal Palace 4 – 2 Montpellier
Manchester City – Crystal Palace Direct Comparison / H2H Record
It almost borders on insult to majesty, but Manchester City have actually managed to win “only” 22 of 42 first league encounters against Crystal Palace. Ten draws and ten victories for the Eagles round off the tally. The Londoners even won two of the most recent four guest games at the Etihad Stadium (one draw, one defeat).
Last season, Crystal Palace also won 2-0 away from home and earned a goalless draw at home. Only against the upcoming opponents from the capital did Guardiola’s team remain without a goal of their own in the first and second legs.
Manchester City – Crystal Palace Tip
Under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t be much going wrong for Manchester City in a home match against Crystal Palace. However, the Eagles have proven impressively in recent years that they can be a fearful opponent for the reigning champions. The Londoners have won two of their last four away games at the Etihad Stadium.
For the upcoming encounter between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, however, the betting odds once again point to a commanding success for the Sky Blues. The difference in quality is too great and the dominance of the home side too pronounced, although they already revealed unexpected deficiencies in their play against the ball last weekend in the 3-3 draw against Newcastle.
We therefore refrain from betting on the three-way market and would also not risk too much in terms of a handicap success. Instead, we have decided to play the betting on the defending champions scoring in both halves between Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Guardiola’s team must be desperate to pick up as many points as possible before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and, at best, gain a small lead in the standings, as many players are likely to be struggling with fatigue after the winter tournament. The Sky Blues cannot really afford a second winless game in a row.
