Hot on the heels of the very good point at the Emirates, Palace make the trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City ahead of a short yet welcome break from fixtures for the Eagles.
DATE
17th January 2021
KICK OFF
7.15pm
VENUE
Etihad Stadium, Etihad Campus, Manchester M11 3FF
LAST TIME
It seems such a long time ago but the last visit to the Etihad for the Eagles proved fruitful as they returned the South London with a welcome point. Everton loanee Cenk Tosun gave Palace a half time lead before a Sergio Aguero double looked to have given the hosts all three points but a Fernandinho own goal in the final minute ensured the points were shared.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Cenk Tosun (8.2)
OFFICIALS
Referee – Lee Mason
Assistants – Scott Ledger, Tim Wood, Andy Madley (fourth official)
VAR – Martin Atkinson, Peter Kirkup (assistant)
INJURY CONCERNS
PALACE – Connor Wickham, Jeffrey Schlupp, Mamadou Sakho, Martin Kelly, Wayne Hennessey, Nathan Ferguson
ARSENAL – Aymeric Laporte, Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, Cole Palmer, Adrian Bernabe Garcia, Nathan Ake
SUSPENSIONS
None
DISCIPLINARY
RED CARDS – Luka Milivojevic (1), Christian Benteke (1),
YELLOW CARDS (3+) – Luka Milivojevic (4), Joao Cancelo (3), Rodrigo (3), Wilfried Zaha (3), James McArthur (3), Nathan Ake (3), Joel Ward (3)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 18/01/2020 Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace
- 19/10/2019 Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City
- 14/04/2019 Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City
- 22/12/2018 Manchester City 2-3 Crystal Palace
- 31/12/2017 Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 14/01/2021 Arsenal 0-0 Crystal Palace
- 08/01/2021 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Crystal Palace
- 02/01/2021 Crystal Palace 2-0 Sheffield United
- 28/12/2020 Crystal Palace 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- 26/12/2020 Aston Villa 3-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for City;
- 13/01/2021 Manchester City 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
- 10/01/2021 Manchester City 3-0 Birmingham City
- 06/01/2021 Manchester United 0-2 Manchester City
- 03/01/2021 Chelsea 1-3 Manchester City
- 26/12/2020 Manchester City 2-0 Newcastle United
RECORD AGAINST CITY
- Played 63
- Won 16
- Drawn 14
- Lost 33
FORM PLAYERS ACCORDING TO WHO SCORED
- Kevin de Bruyne 7.62
- Joao Cancelo 7.31
- Andros Townsend 7.08
- Wilfried Zaha 6.98
ONE TO WATCH
ILKAY GUNDOGUN
FORMER CLUBS – SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler 06, Schalke 04, SSv Buer, VfL Bochum, FC Nurnberg, Borussia Dortmund
The performances of the German international have gone under the radar this season having managed to hold down a regular spot in the side and put in several no-nonsense displays. His ability to protect the back line gives the likes of Foden, de Bruyne and Sterling license to get forward.
KEY CLASH
EBERECHI EZE v KYLE WALKER
There are a number of interesting match-ups ahead of this game but the thought of the in-form Eze (should he shake off the knock he took in the draw against Arsenal) taking on the experienced Walker is one we will be keeping an eye on. The sheer composure Eze has when in possession of the ball and the ground he covers with it makes him look so at ease in the top flight which should be a real test for the England defender.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Palace have only beaten City once in 12 games
- City are unbeaten in 3 games again Palace
- Palace are unbeaten in 3 league games
- City have scored at least 2 goals in their last 7 home matches against Palace
- City have been winning at half time and full time in 6 of their last 8 league matches
- City have won their last 4 league matches
PRE-MATCH STATS
- GOALS – Wilfried Zaha (8 – 8th overall)
- ASSISTS – Andros Townsend (3 – 18th overall)
- PASSES – Cheikhou Kouyate (689)
- TACKLES – James McArthur (51 – 2nd overall)
- TOUCHES – Cheikhou Kouyate (898)
- SHOTS – Wilfried Zaha (37 – 14th overall)
- SAVES – Vicente Guaita (53 – 8th overall)
PREDICTION
We said there would be goals in the game at Arsenal midweek but we have a feeling there will be in this one. Having said that, City have been pretty tight at the back in recent weeks as they have quietly crept back up the table and withing touching distance of top of the table United. The concern is the short space of time Palace have had to recover from the game against Arsenal so there could be a change or two in the starting line up for that reason. Having said that, the Eagles have found some league form lately are will be keen to add to their three game unbeaten run.
FINAL SCORE: 2-2
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 1/7
- Draw – 13/2
- Away – 15/1
- Both teams to score – 11/8
RESOURCES
