(Football news) Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City will take on Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola’s team drew 3-3 against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park last week and will need to secure the three points to put pressure on league leaders Arsenal who are two points ahead. As for Crystal Palace, the Eagles defeated Aston Villa 3-1 last weekend and are currently ninth on the league table and will want to maintain momentum despite the quality of their opponents.
In team news for City, Kalvin Phillips and Luke Mbete are unavailable for selection after sustaining injuries in the friendly against Barcelona while Aymeric Laporte is still recovering from a knee surgery. Jack Grealish (ligament) and Nathan Ake (groin) are doubtful for the match and will be assessed before kickoff. Guardiola is expected to go with a similar starting XI to Newcastle with Haaland, Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Ederson expected to feature in the starting lineup. Reuben Dias should feature in centre back as a replacement for Nathan Ake, joining John Stones, Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo in the back four.
As for Crystal Palace, Patrick Vieira is expected to select a similar side to the one that defeated Aston Villa last weekend. Centre-back Marc Guehi is expected to be joined by Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen and Tyrick Mitchell in a back four while Jordan Ayew and Zaha are set to be recalled. Eberechi Eze is expected to feature in central midfield alongside Jeffery Schlupp and Cheick Doucoure. James McArthur is doubtful due to a groin problem while James Tomkins (calf), Jack Butland (broken wrist) and Nathan Ferguson (foot) are unavailable for selection. A City win seems to be the most likely result in this fixture.
After an indifferent start to their Premier League seasons so far, Chelsea and Leicester City go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge. The Blues have secured four points in three matches so far while Leicester have only managed one draw, which means both the clubs are 12th and 19th respectively. The talking point of the match will undoubtedly be the transfer of Wesley Fofana from Leicester to Chelsea for £70m and the deal could be concluded as early as today.
In team news, Fofana will be unavailable for selection for obvious reasons while Youri Tielemans is also doubtful due to his transfer uncertainty but the Belgian could play if James Maddison is out due to injury sustained in training. Harvey Barnes could feature in the lineup after playing the full 90 minutes against Stockport County in the Carabao Cup. Rogers is expected to go with a back three with Caglar Soyuncu returning to the starting XI in place of Ayoze Perez.
As for Chelsea, Mateo Kovacic could feature on the bench after recovering from a knee injury but N'Golo Kante is still recovering from a hamstring problem. Kalidou Koulibaly will also be unavailable for selection, serving a one match ban for his red card against Leeds United with Marc Cucurella expected to feature in a back three alongside Ben Chilwell. Ruben Loftus-Cheek should replace Conor Gallagher in central midfield and Kai Havertz could retain his place in the starting XI ahead of Armando Broja.
Also read: Manchester United look to build momentum with win over Southampton
