Preview: How Palace can continue strong form v City
Crystal Palace will look to add to their three points earned against Aston Villa last time out as they travel to face Manchester City on Saturday (August 27th, 15:00 BST).
Crystal Palace will look to add to their three points earned against Aston Villa last time out as they travel to face Manchester City on Saturday (August 27th, 15:00 BST).
Travelling to the home of the reigning champions is a tall order for most sides, however Palace’s recent form against City shows there's potential for an upset.
Last season, the Eagles were the only team to stop the Citizens scoring in the league, thanks to a 0-0 draw at home in March and a 0-2 victory in the corresponding fixture.
A dominant display against Aston Villa last weekend and a comfortable victory over Oxford United in the League Cup saw Palace register their first two wins of the season.
The Citizens conceded three at Newcastle's hands before scoring three of their own to earn a point at St James’ Park. Before facing the Magpies, they recorded 0-2 and 4-0 victories against West Ham United and Bournemouth respectively. A defeat to Liverpool in the Community Shield in July is the only blot on the host’s copybook so far.
Marquee summer signing Erling Haaland has hit the ground running in English football. The Yorkshire-born, Norwegian No.9 has scored three goals in his first three games for City. Captain İlkay Gündoğan has also been in fine form, with two goals in his last three games.
The aforementioned 0-2 victory at the Etihad last season was one of three league defeats for the Citizens, and Patrick Vieria’s side would doubtless like to replicate the result this time around. Wilfried Zaha opened the scoring in this fixture last season and will look to add to his current three-goal tally.
The Eagles have taken seven points in the last four away games against City, a run which includes the 2-3 victory in December 2018 where Andros Townsend scored Palace’s 18/19 Goal of the Season.
Palace typically favour a system with three centre-backs when facing the top six sides away from home. As seen against Liverpool just under two weeks ago, the south Londoners lined-up in an effective 5-4-1 formation, with Joel Ward slotting in alongside the centre-back duo of Marc Guéhi and Joachim Andersen to provide added defensive steel.
This presents a selection dilemma for manager Patrick Vieira, as the Eagles came away with all three points at the Etihad last season playing a now-customary 4-3-3 formation. In addition, Zaha may continue to be the focal point of attack, though goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Odsonne Édouard, against Villa and Oxford respectively, will see the two Frenchmen vying for the role.
Often in major away games against the top sides like City, whoever has played up-front for Palace has had a very defensive role to play, and Vieira has previously stressed the importance of defending from the front.
Manchester City operated without a traditional centre-forward for the majority of the previous campaign, with the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and the now-departed Raheem Sterling filling in as the spearheads of their fluid attack. Haaland's arrival sees them tweak their style to accommodate a traditional No. 9, though on paper they still line-up in a 4-3-3 formation.
Saturday, 27th August
15:00 BST
Etihad Stadium
Audio commentary on Palace TV+
Live audio commentary City v Palace will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service that gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.
Find out more by clicking here.
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official Palace app’s match centre and live blog is the place to be for everything you need during the City clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
