Crystal Palace vs Manchester City; Premier League
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City. Premier League.
Selhurst Park.
Crystal Palace vs Man City preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time
Crystal Palace will have Gary Cahill available; Man City are without defender John Stones through suspension; follow Crystal Palace vs Man City on Sky Sports; watch free highlights shortly after full-time on Sky Sports website and app
Saturday 1 May 2021 11:19, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Crystal Palace vs Man City in the Premier League on Saturday (kick-off 12.30pm).
Team news
Crystal Palace will have Gary Cahill available for Saturday's visit of Premier League champions-elect Manchester City.
The centre-back sat out the 2-1 loss at Leicester on Monday with a minor muscle problem, but has returned to training this week.
Eagles boss Roy Hodgson will still be without Mamadou Sakho (thigh), James Tomkins (eye), Nathan Ferguson (thigh), James McArthur (calf) and Connor Wickham (muscle) despite the foursome making good progress.
City are without defender John Stones through suspension but otherwise have a full-strength squad available.
Stones is serving the second match of his three-match domestic ban for his recent sending off against Aston Villa.
Manager Pep Guardiola has no fresh fitness concerns but could consider changes after a draining week that has included the Carabao Cup final and a Champions League semi-final.
How to follow
Follow Crystal Palace vs Man City in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Last time out...
Jones Knows prediction...
With such a massive fixture against PSG on the horizon I'm not exactly rushing to the counter to back Manchester City here at 2/7 with Sky Bet. However, can you really see a scenario where Crystal Palace breach the best defence in Europe? A defence that has kept Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe quiet in recent weeks.
Palace's return of 0.58 in terms of their expected goals output per 90 minutes over the past 12 games is the worst in the Premier League. The numbers suggest they've done well to pick up three wins in that run, but such is the magic of Roy Hodgson, I suppose.
All five of City's last five wins have come by a one-goal scoreline and this could be a similar story as they close in on the Premier League title. That is a 5/2 chance with Sky Bet.
However, those looking for a betting angle should focus on the chances of Fernandinho picking up a card at 3/1 with Sky Bet.
That price certainly underestimates his chances. He has been booked in eight of his last 10 appearances in all competitions, averaging a card every 84 minutes as a combination of his ageing limbs and cynical nature is a perfect recipe for getting the attention of the referee. Palace will be playing on the break and in Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze they have players capable of drawing yellow cards. The pair have got 15 players booked between them this season.
Fernandinho plays a part in my weekend 66/1 card accumulator that needs Fabinho and Oliver Norwood also to get booked in order to land.
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-1
BETTING ANGLE: Fernandinho to be carded (3/1 with Sky Bet)
Opta stats
- Crystal Palace have lost 13 of their last 17 Premier League meetings with Man City (W2 D2), failing to score on 10 occasions in that run.
- Manchester City are unbeaten in their last five Premier League away games against Crystal Palace (W4 D1), since a 2-1 defeat in April 2015.
- Crystal Palace have won just two of their 23 Premier League games against sides at the top of the table (D4 L17), with both of those victories coming against Chelsea (March 2014 and April 2017). The Eagles lost their last such game 7-0 at home to Liverpool in December.
- Only Newcastle (27) and West Bromwich Albion (33) have conceded more home goals than Crystal Palace in the Premier League this season (25). Meanwhile, Manchester City have scored more away goals than any other side this term (32).
- Manchester City have won each of their last 10 Premier League away games by an aggregate score of 26-4. Victory here will equal the all-time English top-flight record for consecutive away wins, currently held by Chelsea (April-December 2008) and Man City themselves (May-December 2017).
- Man City have conceded the first goal in each of their last two Premier League games, more than they had in their previous 23 in the competition (one). They last conceded first in three consecutive league games back in November 2019, coming back to win two of those (L1).
- Crystal Palace have lost back-to-back league games for the sixth time this season. They last lost more consecutively in June/July 2020 (a run of seven).
- Man City's Raheem Sterling has been involved in seven goals in his last seven starts against Crystal Palace in the Premier League (six goals, one assist).
- Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, his joint-best return in a single league campaign in his career. He's just the second player to reach double figures in two separate Premier League campaigns for the Eagles, after Luka Milivojevic.
- Man City striker Gabriel Jesus has scored 49 goals in 126 Premier League appearances, and could become just the second Brazilian to reach 50 in the competition after Roberto Firmino.
Pitch to Post Preview: Jamie Carragher on Man Utd v Liverpool; Plus: Chelsea's striker problems and Arsenal's issues on and off the field
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher joins Peter Smith to look ahead to Manchester United's Super Sunday clash with Liverpool. He assesses United's big Europa League semi-final win over Roma and where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side need to strengthen if they are to be Premier League challengers next season. Plus, he gives his verdict on Liverpool's top four hopes - and how they can come out on top in their must-win trip to Old Trafford.
Sky Sports features writer Nick Wright is also on the show, discussing Chelsea's misfiring strikers ahead of their clash with Fulham, and also offering his insight on Arsenal's Europa League semi-final defeat to Villarreal, what needs to change before next week's second leg, and the wider ownership debate which has led to fan protests. He also shares his Pitch for what he thinks will happen in the Premier League this weekend!
Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
