Preview Crystal Palace vs Manchester City, Don't Stumble on Your Opponent's Home

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Manchester City is trying to continue to put pressure on Liverpool and Arsenal by picking up three points when they face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, in the 2023/2024 Premier League, Saturday (6/4/2024).

Since changing their coach from Roy Hodgson to Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace has not shown significant improvement. The Eagles, nicknamed Palace, have only won once in the last five matches. Before meeting City, Crystal Palace was beaten 0-1 by hosts Bournemouth.

Meanwhile, Manchester City recovered from a two-match winless streak with a 4-1 win over Aston Villa earlier this week. This result also keeps The Citizen in third place, while keeping their distance from Liverpool (three points difference) and Arsenal (one point difference) at the top of the standings.

The last meeting between the two teams at the Etihad, City's headquarters, Crystal Palace came back from two goals behind to finally hold the hosts to a 2-2 draw. Michael Olise scored a late equalizer with a penalty.

Considering that the 2023/2024 Premier League only has eight matches remaining, stumbling at Palace headquarters is something that Pep Guardiola's troops must avoid in their efforts to defend the Premier League title.

From the line-up, Palace manager Oliver Glasner is facing an injury crisis which is hampering his team's preparations. At least eight core players must be sidelined.

Johnstone's absence means Dean Henderson will be in goal. With a 3-4-3 formation, Crystal Palace's defense line will be filled with Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen and Jefferson Lerma.

Adam Wharton, Will Hughes, Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell will fill the midfield positions, supporting the trio of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jordan Ayew and Eberechi Eze as the trident of Crystal Palace's attack line.

In the visiting team's camp, Pep Guardiola also lost three core players. Goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, who has a thigh injury, is still too risky to play, considering that City also has a Champions League match against Real Madrid. Meanwhile, Kyle Walker and Nathan Ake also still have to be parked because they have not yet recovered from injuries.

Stefan Ortega will be Ederson's replacement. With a 4-1-4-1 formation, Rico Lewis will likely fill the right-back position to replace Walker. Completing City's back line quartet, namely Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.

In the midfield, Rodri will play as a defensive midfielder to maintain the balance of attack and defense. Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne are on the wings, with Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku supporting Erling Haaland as The Citizen's spearhead.

Crystal Palace have failed to score in their last four home Premier League games against Manchester City. A goal from Luka Milivojevic in April 2019 was the Eagles' last goal against City at Selhurst Park.

Meanwhile, Manchester City only managed to keep one clean sheet in nine away matches against London clubs in the Premier League, with five wins, one draw and three defeats.

Estimated line-up:
Crystal Palace (3-4-3): Henderson; Ward, Andersen, Lerma; Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Ayew, Mateta, Eze

Manchester City (4-1-4-1): Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo Silva, De Bruyne, Foden, Doku; Haaland