Kick-off: 1730, 11/03/2023
Stadium: Selhurst Park
TV: Sky Sports
Crystal Palace have given Manchester City more trouble than most teams in recent years and that trend could continue at Selhurst Park.
City have only done the double over the Eagles once in the past five seasons and had to come from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at home early on this term.
We feel 11/5 for the hosts to avoid defeat in front of their own fans is a fair price for our first Crystal Palace vs Man City prediction.
Eagles have been competitive
Admittedly, Palace have gone nine Premier League games without a win since the turn of the year following last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Aston Villa.
Scoring goals has been a problem and that was the fifth time they had drawn a blank up front during that period.
The Eagles failed to register a shot on target at Villa Park in a match decided by Joachim Andersen’s 27th minute own goal.
To make matters worse, Palace finished with 10 men after Cheick Doucoure collected two quick yellow cards around the hour mark.
It might have been a different story, though, had the returning Wilfried Zaha not been fractionally offside before he put the ball in the back of the net early on.
“I think we were close to Villa,” said Patrick Vieira. “The difference between the two teams was just the own goal.
“Outside of that, we didn’t create very much and they didn’t create very much. That’s the story of the game.
“We are learning and it’s really important for us to keep working. It’s about us believing in what we are doing and being clear about the role and the responsibility of the players.”
Getting talismanic front man Zaha back is a big boost and Palace had drawn five of their six previous games.
That sequence included home stalemates with four of the top eight in Manchester United, Newcastle, Brighton and Liverpool.
Looking at the Crystal Palace vs Man City odds, we reckon 35/4 for a 1-1 draw is tempting.
Last Palace line-up: Guaita, Mitchell, Guehi, Andersen, Clyne, Olise, Lokonga, Ayew, Eze, Doucoure, Zaha.
Fatigue factor fear for Blues
City kept up the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the table with a workmanlike 2-0 win over Newcastle at Etihad Stadium.
Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva scored in either half, but the Magpies more than held their own in between until the latter came off the bench to wrap up victory in the 67th minute.
“It was a very important win against a very, very good side,” said Silva. “The game was very tough, they put us under pressure in a lot of moments.
“We’re very happy with the three points and (being on) the right path to fight for this title.”
Pep Guardiola admitted his players had been feeling the strain of a hectic schedule, giving them a short break after that game.
The Blues now face another pivotal week, with this contest followed by a Champions League clash with RB Leipzig and an FA Cup tie versus Burnley.
City have always had the strength in depth to cope in past campaigns but just seem a little more tired than usual this term, perhaps due to the World Cup.
We’re prepared to take them on here and 7/5 for the scores to be level at half-time is added to our Crystal Palace vs Man City betting tips.
Last City line-up: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Akanji, Gundogan, Grealish, Rodri, De Bruyne, Foden, Haaland.
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