Neither side has had ideal preparations ahead of this weekend's clash. Crystal Palace are winless in their last eight Premier League matches (3 draws, 5 defeats). This is the fourth-longest winless run in the club's history since returning to the English top flight in the 2013/14 season. The three longer runs came in February 2025 (9 matches), March 2023 (12) and April 2016 (14).
Manchester City have won just 4 of their last 10 away Premier League matches (5 draws, 1 defeat), while Enzo Maresca failed to win any of his final three Premier League away games in charge of Chelsea (2 draws, 1 defeat).
It is understood that Sage's 3-4-2-1 formation was an important factor behind Crystal Palace's decision to appoint him. The system is designed to play attacking football rather than sit deep defensively. Tactically, it builds on Oliver Glasner's approach, but Sage's philosophy places greater emphasis on repeatable habits rather than the emotional momentum that helped Crystal Palace win a historic double. However, Sage was unable to guide the team to victory in his Premier League debut at Everton.
For Manchester City, the main issue is that their midfield looks very much like a construction site. Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders all left during the same transfer window, while Anderson arrived just three weeks ago. Against Bournemouth, the solution was to push a centre-back into central midfield.
Marc Guehi played in that role alongside Anderson, repeatedly pushing forward and scoring a headed equaliser. However, he is likely to return to the defence for this early kick-off in the second round of the Premier League season.
Perhaps what Maresca needs to do is build on what City produced during the second half of their match against Bournemouth last weekend. Rayan Cherki came on in the 63rd minute and created four chances in just 27 minutes, providing the assists for both goals. He deserves to be given a starting role in this match.
That could prove particularly important against a Crystal Palace side expected to spend much of the game defending with a deep defensive block and relying on effective attacks from wide areas. Cherki's greatest strength is his ability to find passing lanes that a compact defence does not anticipate.
Head-to-Head Record
- The two teams have met 76 times, with Manchester City winning 41, Crystal Palace winning 18 and 17 matches ending in draws.
- Crystal Palace have won just 2 of their last 22 Premier League meetings with Manchester City (5 draws, 15 defeats) and have failed to win any of their last nine encounters since their 2-0 away victory in October 2021.
- Manchester City are unbeaten away against Crystal Palace in their last 11 Premier League visits, recording 8 wins and 3 draws, since their 2-1 defeat in April 2021 under Manuel Pellegrini.
Latest Team News
Crystal Palace are likely to be without Chadi Riad and Ismaila Sarr. While Riad could be replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu in the three-man defence, Sarr's absence would create a much bigger problem for the hosts.
Crystal Palace's Player of the Season for 2025/26 missed the opening match with a groin injury and had not yet returned to full training at the start of the week. His availability is therefore still uncertain, although manager Pierre Sage remains hopeful — albeit only slightly — that he can recover in time.
Cheick Doucoure and Jean-Philippe Mateta are also doubts. As a result, the main change to the starting XI is expected to come in defence, where Tomiyasu is likely to replace Riad. The attacking setup will depend heavily on the availability of Sarr and Mateta.
For Manchester City, Jeremy Doku remains sidelined with the calf injury he suffered in the Community Shield. The bigger concern is his match fitness rather than the injury itself.
Enzo Maresca confirmed that Elliot Anderson's withdrawal against Bournemouth was caused by cramp rather than a hamstring problem, although he admitted that Anderson is among the players who are not yet at 100% fitness.
Erling Haaland, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly are in a similar situation after returning late from the World Cup. This helps explain why Manchester City's midfield remains relatively unsettled. Anderson is expected to become a key figure in a rebuilt midfield following the departures of Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders.
Rayan Cherki is the player most likely to benefit from the changes. He came off the bench against Bournemouth and created four chances in 27 minutes, providing the assists for both of Manchester City's goals.
At present, he is expected to operate on the right wing, with Phil Foden in the No. 10 role and Antoine Semenyo on the opposite side of Haaland.
Clearly, Manchester City are close to having a full-strength squad, but several key players are still working their way back to full fitness. That makes the predicted XI somewhat uncertain ahead of kick-off.
Predicted Lineups: Crystal Palace vs Man City
- Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Khalaili, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell; Nketiah, Pino; Larsen.
- Man City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Gvardiol; Anderson, O'Reilly; Cherki, Foden, Semenyo; Haaland.
In-Depth Statistical Analysis
- 3+ goals: 7 of the last 9 meetings between the two teams, 6 of Crystal Palace's last 8 matches and 5 of Manchester City's last 6 matches have produced at least three total goals. In addition, 8 of Crystal Palace's last 9 home matches have also featured at least three goals.
- Goals in the final 30 minutes: 6 of the last 7 head-to-head meetings, 7 of Crystal Palace's last 10 competitive matches and 8 of Manchester City's last 9 matches (excluding friendlies) have featured at least one goal between the 60th and 90th minutes. This match is unlikely to be an exception.
- Few cards: There have been 23 cards in the last 8 meetings between the teams, averaging almost 3 cards per match. Crystal Palace have also seen just 28 cards in their last 10 matches (excluding friendlies), an average of 2.8 per game, while Manchester City have had 28 cards in their last 10 competitive matches, also averaging 2.8 per game. Therefore, the match is unlikely to produce more than 3 cards.
Crystal Palace vs Man City Score Prediction
Against a Crystal Palace side that appear inferior in almost every department, Manchester City have a strong chance of beating the Eagles at Selhurst Park by a two-goal margin, potentially showing that Enzo Maresca's rebuilding project is already beginning to deliver positive results.
