Manchester City – Crystal Palace
Manchester City can’t win the Premier League title this season, but what they can do is beat Leicester City for the second place. Right now the Cityzens are two points ahead of the Foxes, enjoying four wins in their last five games in the league. Because of Liverpool being far more superior than anyone else in the league at the moment, Man City will focus on the cup competitions they are playing in. That’s pretty clear right now.
In the previous round Manchester City showed glimpses of their brilliance when they visited Aston Villa at the Villa Park and enjoyed a 6-1 win. Sergio Aguero put the ball three times in the net behind Orjan Nyland, while Riyad Mahrez scored twice. Gabriel Jesus also scored once for the visitors.
The centre back Aymeric Laporte and the winger Leroy Sane remain sidelined for Manchester City. Everyone else in Guardiola’s team is healthy and ready to play.
Crystal Palace are doing well so far in the league. They are 9th in the league with 29 points and that’s pretty good from them, Roy Hodgson’s team is in a run of three consecutive draws in the league right now, so if they manage to avoid losing at the Etihad on Saturday it would be pretty good for them. Maybe you remember that last season Palace actually managed to beat City at their own ground.
Last week Crystal Palace hosted Arsenal and won a point after a 1-1 draw. Jordan Ayew scored for the hosts.
Despite of the fact that they are not in the title race anymore, we believe that Manchester City will be serious about beating Crystal Palace on Saturday. They still need to secure their Top 4 finish, so there is a lot to play for until the end of the campaign.