Manchester City vs Crystal Palace: Lineups, Stats and Preview

Manchester City host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, knowing that anything short of a win could effectively end their Premier League title challenge.

Pep Guardiola’s side remain five points behind leaders Arsenal with just a few games to play, meaning there is virtually no room for error ahead of this game.

City responded well to their disappointing 3-3 draw against Everton by beating Brentford 3-0 at home last weekend, with Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmus finding the net.

Despite that result, Arsenal’s win over West Ham ensured the pressure on the chasers remained. A win over Palace would at least close the gap to two points and keep the title race alive in the final week of the campaign.

The Etihad has once again become a fortress for Guardiola’s side. City are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League home games and have scored at least twice in 14 of those matches, while winning five of their last nine meetings with Palace in all competitions.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, travel to Manchester after a 2-2 draw with Everton, a result which mathematically secured their Premier League status for another season.

Oliver Glassner’s side have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, particularly since reaching the Conference League final, although their league form has remained inconsistent with just one win from their last six Premier League games.

Manchester City vs Crystal Palace team news

Manchester City could once again be without Abdukodir Khusanov, who missed the win at Brentford through injury. Josko Guardiol and Rodri also remain questionable and will be assessed before kick-off.

Nathan Ake could continue alongside former Palace captain Mark Gwehi in central defense if Husanov is unavailable, while Nico Gonzalez and Tijani Reynders are options in midfield if Rodri fails to recover in time.

Jeremy Doku is expected to keep his place after scoring four goals in his last three appearances, while Haaland leads the line, having already scored eight Premier League goals against Palace.

Crystal Palace are without Eddie Nketiah, Borna Sosa and Cheick Doucoure through injury, although Evann Guessand could return to the squad after resuming training.

Ismaila Sarr is likely to continue in attack after scoring his 20th goal of the season last time out, while Jean-Philippe Mateta should also start in the forward line.

Expected line-ups for Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Halland

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Riad; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchell; Pinot, Sar; Mateta

Where to watch Manchester City vs Crystal Palace: TV Channel, Online Stream

The match will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports.

Kick-off is set for 20:00 BST on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium.

The statistics for Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

• Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 16 Premier League home games
• City have scored 2+ goals in 14 of their last 16 Etihad League games
• Crystal Palace have scored at least two goals in six of their last seven away games against City
• Erling Haaland scored eight Premier League goals against Palace
• Palace have lost six of their last nine away games in the Premier League

Manchester City vs Crystal Palace Prediction

Crystal Palace have shown in recent seasons that they are capable of causing Manchester City problems, especially on the counter-attack.

However, City’s need for three points combined with their outstanding record at home should ultimately prove decisive in what is shaping up to be another entertaining encounter.

Prediction: Manchester City 3-2 Crystal Palace