Crystal Palace v Manchester City Preview | Team News, Stats and Key Men

Manchester City travel to Selhurst park on Saturday, the 7th of April for their 31st Premier League game of the season. While the club was seen as a title contenders a month ago, their waning form and not-so-dominant performances over the last few weeks have now made them title wannabes as they sit in the 4th place a point behind cross-town rivals Manchester United. A victory at Palace would ensure that they go above United as well as Arsenal, but that task is easier said than done as Palace under Pardew have shown reformed colours. From struggling for survival last season to all but ensuring their spot in the Premier League for the next season, the club has definitely travelled a long way forward. While many might believe that this might turn out to be a mismatch of quality, the form of the two teams involved aren’t very different. While Palace have garnered 10 points from their last 6 games, City have managed 12 points from their last 6 fixtures.

Team News

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace have no fresh injury woes. However, striker Fraizer Campbell (Hamstring), Chung-Yong ( Ankle), Mutch (Hip) have been sidelined for the game with their respective injuries. While Ledley is expected to make it to the squad on the game day, influential striker Chamakh is set to undergo a late fitness test before being declared fit for them game. The game will also witness Mile Jedinak on the stands as the club captain serves his suspension.

Manchester City

James Milner has shown signs of knee trouble in the recent past. However, it is believed that the English midfielder will be available for selection on Monday. Influential midfielder Yaya Toure sat out of the fixture against West Brom a fortnight ago but is expected to be available for selection as he clocked two internationals for his country Ivory Coast since then.

Interesting Facts

• This will be the 48th meeting between these sides in all competitions.
• Of the 48 games played between the sides, 22 have been won by Man City, 13 by Palace, while the rest have ended as draws.
• At Home Palace have won 8 of their 24 ties against City, while city have won 10 of the 24 games at Selhurst Park.

Possible Line-Up

Crystal Palace

Speroni,  Dann, Delaney, Souare, Ward, McArthur, Ledley, Bolasie, Puncheon, Zaha, Murray

Manchester City

Hart, Demichelis, Kompany,  Zabaleta, Clichy, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva, Milner, Aguero, Bony

Key Men

Wilfred Zaha

A return to Crystal Palace has seen Wilfried Zaha garner some essential playing time under the watch of Alan Pardew. Highly rated and then said to have failed to meet the set standards of Manchester United, the youngster is slowly working on bringing up his stock in the footballing market. While he has contributed 3 goals and 2 assists over the 23 appearances this season, there is more to his story than just these numbers. It remains to be seen where he will be deployed for the game as he has been used on either flanks as per the requirement of the manager over the course of the season. He has shown the once frightening pace he was said to possess again operating from the flank at Selhurst Park and will be looking to torment the Manchester City full-back, who might turn too adventurous at times and present the electric wingers with chances that could cost them heavy.

Sergio Aguero

Many believe that Manchester City’s push to end the season on a bright note will depend solely on the form of the Argentine striker. While the likes of Yaya Toure and David Silva have the ability to change the course of the game on its head, no other City player has been more consistent at doing so than the man who won them the 2012 title. 2 goals behind scoring chart leaders Costa and Kane, the striker will be keen to add to his goal tally while ensuring City’s dominance. He hasn’t scored in the last 2 league games and the fact that this statistic might worry some fans is an indication of the consistency the striker has shown since he joined City. Nevertheless, the player is in good form as he has racked up 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 5 games.

Head-To-Head

Prediction

With the season coming to its business end, every match and every point increases in relevance, especially with the battle for Europe hotting up. We expect Manchester City to carve out a 2-0 victory at Selhurst Park.