(Football news) The Citizens will be out for revenge against the Eagles after they allowed a two-goal lead to be lost in the rematch at Etihad Stadium in December, ending in a 2-2 draw.
Oliver Glasner took over as Crystal Palace’s manager at the end of February, and in his first five Premier League games, he has led the team to five points. Burnley’s 3-0 victory was followed by two draws and two losses.
After squandering one point each in 1-1 draws against relegation-threatened Luton Town and Nottingham Forest, the Eagles lost just 1-0 at Bournemouth on Tuesday night, thanks to a goal from Justin Kluivert in the 79th minute.
Although Palace have won only two league matches out of 10 since the turn of the year, they remain on course to preserve their top-flight status for a 12th successive season as they currently sit 14th in the table and eight points clear of the relegation zone, with a game in hand on 18th-placed Luton.
After winning only one of their opening nine home league matches this season, Palace have since picked up 10 points in their last five fixtures at Selhurst Park. The Eagles have won four top-flight games on home soil so far this term and have scored exactly three goals on each occasion.
However, goals have been hard to come by in recent home encounters with Manchester City, as they have failed to find the net in each of their last four meetings with the Citizens in front of their own fans – Luka Milivojevic was the last Palace player to score a home goal against them in a 3-1 defeat in April 2019.
After back-to-back top-flight draws against title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, Manchester City returned to winning ways in comfortable fashion as they put Aston Villa to the sword 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
Villa’s Jhon Duran cancelled out an early opener from Rodri, but Phil Foden stole the headlines with a superb hat-trick, increasing his career-best goal tally in all competitions to 21 for the season, to help the hosts power past their top-four chasing counterparts.
Pep Guardiola’s men have extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 15 games, but they remain third in the table, level on points with second-placed Liverpool – at the time of writing – and one point behind leaders Arsenal with eight games remaining.
The reigning champions, still bidding to win an unprecedented fourth title in a row, can be confident of success in the capital this weekend as they have not lost any of their last eight Premier League away games against Crystal Palace – winning six and drawing two – since a 2-1 loss in April 2015.
In their last nine top-flight away games against capital-based competition, Man City has only kept one clean sheet, although that one shutout came against Palace in a close 1-0 victory last season. This suggests that Manchester City’s defense has not been at its best in London.
A win on Saturday would not only give Guardiola’s team a greater chance to win the Premier League and complete a double treble, but it would also lift the mood in the Citizens camp ahead of their Champions League quarterfinal first-leg match against Real Madrid in Spain on Tuesday.
Also read: Manchester United concede late to lose against Chelsea
