Crystal Palace 0-0 Man City
Crystal Palace 0-0 Man City
Wharton with the ball forward and it was Dias at the back with a nervy moment as the City defence fail to clear. The linesman's flag just saves them.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Man City
Here they come...
Sky Sports' William Bitibiri at Selhurst Park:
"The players make their way out.
"We were treated to a nice reminder that Crystal Palace are the FA Cup winners by the stadium announcer as he read out the starting lineup.
"Not sure the Man City fans were best pleased about that. The City squad could help right the wrongs of that defeat in May with three points this afternoon. Let's see which way this one swings!"
Team news reminder
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi, Mitchell, Wharton, Kamada, Pino, Sarr, Mateta.
Subs: Benítez, Devenny, Nketiah, Uche, Hughes, Esse, Clyne, Canvot, Sosa.
Man City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico, Bernardo, Reijnders, Foden, Cherki, Haaland.
Subs: Trafford, Ake, Marmoush, Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Khusanov, Bobb, Mukasa, Lewis.
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This afternoon's match officials
Referee: Darren England.
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Akil Howson.
Fourth official: Anthony Backhouse.
VAR: Matt Donohue.
Assistant VAR: Peter Wright.
Carra: Palace one of the best teams in the league
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"Crystal Palace are one of the best teams in the Premier League.
"This is not a mid-table team near the top who shouldn't really be there.
"When you look at the underlying numbers, you see they are a top team.
"This is Crystal Palace's greatest ever team and their greatest ever manager.
"They are a proper outfit."
Jones Knows prediction
Crystal Palace have managed to score seven goals in the last four meetings with Manchester City, so the both teams to score angle is lighting up like a Christmas tree - but the market is fully aligned at a very skinny 4/9 with Sky Bet.
However, there is a smarter way to attack this angle.
The sharper play regarding goals is to back the players who score them better than anyone else in the Premier League in Erling Haaland and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who as a pair can be backed at 100/30 to both find the net through the BuildABet function with Sky Bet.
Haaland feels like a cheat code most weeks, but it's the other name on the ticket that unlocks the price. Mateta has quietly transformed from cult figure to legitimate Premier League hotshot, and the numbers back it up. In 2025 the two most prolific strikers in the Premier League are Haaland (23 goals) and Mateta (17).
SCORE PREDICTION: 2-2
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Sky Sports
Man City's settled defence
Sky Sports' Nick Wright at Selhurst Park:
"Pep Guardiola made a habit of rotating his defenders in previous seasons but he seems to have settled on a clear preference this season.
"Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O'Reilly start together for the seventh time in eight games.
"Others, such as Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis, appear to have fallen out of favour while John Stones continues to struggle with injury issues. He is not in the squad today."
Over to you Man City...
Sky Sports' William Bitibiri at Selhurst Park:
"Arsenal's late winner last night changed what this afternoon could have been for Man City.
"Had Wolves held on for the draw, City could have leapfrogged the table-topping Gunners for the first time this campaign.
"The race for the title is proving to be just that, but a win today will feel imperative for Pep Guardiola's side to keep up the pressure."
Palace's best ever start - Opta stats
Crystal Palace have 26 points after 15 Premier League games this season (W7 D5 L3). It's their best ever start to a campaign, and double the total they had at this stage last season (13).
They are the first side to have at least double the number of points from their previous campaign after 15 games since Newcastle in 2021-22 (10) and 2022-23 (30).
The Eagles have opened the scoring in the opening 10 minutes in four of their last six Premier League meetings with Man City but have failed to go on to win any of these (D1 L3).
Man City have lost just two of their last 20 Premier League games against Crystal Palace (W13 D5), with both defeats in that run coming at the Etihad Stadium.
Quicker than Haaland, O'Reilly is a unique left-back
The Radar column looks at Nico O'Reilly's growing importance to Pep Guardiola and the unique profile he brings to the left-back role for Manchester City.
Nico O'Reilly brings unique profile to full-back role for Man City, Ian Maatsen earns Aston Villa place - The Radar
Sky Sports
Is Pep letting the horses run free?
Sky Sports' William Bitibiri at Selhurst Park:
"When Rayan Cherki completed the move to Manchester City, it raised some eyebrows.
"That's no reflection of the France international's talent or potential, given his already lofty reputation since a teen, it was more given Pep Guardiola's track record with flair.
"Jack Grealish would be the most recent example. He arrived at the Etihad as one of the league's most exciting creators but quickly became shackled by the responsibility of the Guardiola machine.
"Cherki, though, despite Guardiola questioning some of his recent tricks, has managed to strike the balance of entertaining and doing his part for the side.
"The 22-year-old ranks first for big chances created per 90 (1.6) and expected assists per 90 (0.55), while he’s assisting a goal every 80 minutes (5 in 398 mins), the best ever ratio in a Premier League campaign.
"He'll be another to keep an eye on this afternoon. It's a tighter pitch here at Selhurst, will the tricks still be on display?"
Guardiola with Man City squad
Pep Guardiola was unable to attend Man City's pre-match press conference, with Kolo Toure filling in. But he's with the squad at Selhurst Park, as expected.
Glasner's Palace thrive out of possession
Seventeen of Crystal Palace’s last 20 Premier League wins have come when they’ve had lower than 50% possession, with 13 of those coming in 2025.
The last team to have more than 13 wins with the lower share of possession in a year was Newcastle in 2022 (14).
Last time out: Man City 3-0 Sunderland
Last chance to see Sarr before he's off to AFCON
Sky Sports' William Bitibiri at Selhurst Park:
"Ismaila Sarr returns to the starting lineup for City this afternoon after missing three games due to a knee injury. He makes his 100th Premier League appearance.
"His comeback is a welcome one, but it will be short-lived with the forward due to report for AFCON duty next week with Senegal.
"Oliver Glasner has spoken of how necessary Sarr is for his ability to stretch defences with runs in behind, something that few others in his squad can do for his side.
"The Austrian coach expressed a desire to dip into the market while Sarr is in Morocco; it remains to be seen whether that will happen.
"For City, Rayan Ait-Nouri, who hasn't had the start to life he would have hoped for since joining in the summer due to injuries, will be off to represent Algeria."
AFCON 2025: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, Man Utd's Bryan Mbeumo among UK-based players selected for tournament
Sky Sports
Doku absent for Man City
Jeremy Doku misses out for Manchester City. The winger is not in the squad as Tijani Reijnders comes into the starting line-up in the only change from the 3-0 win over Sunderland.
That means another outing for Pep Guardiola's first-choice back four of Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nico O'Reilly.
Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden will play in support of Erling Haaland up front.
John Stones, Rodri and Mateo Kovacic remain absent.