On Sunday at Selhurst Park, Erling Haaland’s second-half penalty gave the off-balance Manchester City a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace and extended his lead in the Premier League goals.
- When Manchester City and Crystal Palace square off in a Premier League game on Saturday at Selhurst Park, Manchester City will look to increase their dominance over Crystal Palace in London. City has five victories, two draws, and a 10-point advantage over Palace in the last seven EPL meetings between the teams at Selhurst Park. Since April 2015, they have not suffered a league defeat at the hands of Palace in London. Palace is trying to avoid the relegation zone in the meantime. The team has 27 points going into Matchweek 27 and was in 12th place.
- The two-time reigning champions are now trailing Premier League leaders Arsenal by two points. On Sunday, Arsenal will play Fulham.
- The greatest winless streak in the Premier League right now belongs to Patrick Vieira’s Palace, who have not won in their last ten games. The Eagles have a lot of draws under their belt but are now in a relegation battle until they pick up a win or two. They are currently only four points above the bottom three. In nearly five hours of Premier League play, Palace has failed to score on goal. Yikes.
- Midfielder Rodri’s strong third-minute volley at goalkeeper Vicente Guaita and Jack Grealish’s attempt that went just wide showed the visitors’ quick start, but City struggled to get past the home team’s packed defence.
Player rankings between Crystal Palace and Manchester City: The Shows toppers.
Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen: You better have centre backs prepared to withstand pressure and body shots if your strategy is to sit deep and counter Manchester City. Together, the two players cleared the ball more than a dozen times and stopped a shot.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: City may have won, but the on-loan Arsenal player contributed with three clearances, recoveries, and fouls called.
Nathan Ake: The former Bournemouth and Chelsea player was a handful from the first whistle as he charged up and down the left as the widest man in a huge back four.
Jack Grealish: Grealish was brilliant and at the centre of everything City tried to do on Saturday, whether gliding to set up a shoot or move possession or working tirelessly to block a late shot from Eberechi Eze.
How to make Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City picks
Just before the half-hour mark, Haaland fired a shot from a very tight angle goalward in an act of frustration and then blasted the rebound wide as his team controlled possession.
- After Jack Grealish was fouled on the edge of the box to give City a great opportunity early in the second half, Guaita made a fantastic diving save to stop Phil Foden’s free kick.
- After turning brilliantly on the edge of the box after receiving the ball from Bernardo Silva, City came even closer to scoring, but Julian Alvarez missed the target with his effort after hitting the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.
