Crystal Palace vs Man City Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

Crystal Palace and Manchester City meet in the Premier League at Selhurst Park on Saturday morning New Zealand time, with both clubs adjusting to life under new managers. 

Pierre Sage watched his Palace side squander two big chances and lose 2-0 at Everton on opening day, while Enzo Maresca needed two goals in the final six minutes to rescue a 2-1 win over Bournemouth.

In this Crystal Palace vs Man City preview, I’m weighing up whether Selhurst Park can cause City problems. I’ve got a clean sheet angle at over $2.50 for those checking football expert tips this week.

Crystal Palace

I thought Palace were the better side in the first half at Everton. 

Jean-Philippe Mateta clipped the upright from inside six yards. Eddie Nketiah’s curling effort was tipped onto the post by Pickford. And they still went in at the break 1-0 down.

Losing Eberechi Eze to Arsenal over the summer was always going to sting, and it already looks like it has. Nobody in the current squad replicates what Eze did in tight games. Yeremi Pino, signed from Villarreal as his replacement, came off the bench at Everton but couldn’t change the flow. Adam Wharton is the one who could drag Palace into this, but he needs his attackers to convert.

Mateta’s summer was complicated - his move to AC Milan fell through after a failed medical. Jorgen Strand Larsen came on at Goodison and offered more of a focal point. 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a club-record signing from Wolves start here.

Team News: Riad is out with a knee injury suffered at Everton. Henderson faces a late fitness test on an ankle problem. Sarr’s availability is unclear amid reports of a desired move to Galatasaray.

Predicted Lineup: Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Nketiah, Pino; Mateta.

Manchester City

City got out of jail against Bournemouth, big time. 

Marcus Tavernier put the visitors ahead on 26 minutes, and for the best part of an hour City looked disjointed. Then Rayan Cherki came off the bench and changed the game - assisting Marc Guehi’s 84th-minute header and Josko Gvardiol’s stoppage-time winner.

Guehi in a midfield double-pivot alongside Elliot Anderson is the post-Rodri experiment, and it looked rough. Anderson was withdrawn during the game, and whether that was tactical or a fitness issue hasn’t been confirmed.

Cherki might force his way into the starting XI here. Erling Haaland was quiet against Bournemouth - zero shots on target - but I won’t lose sleep over one subdued afternoon from a 27-goal-a-season striker.

Team News: Doku is out for several weeks with a calf problem. Savinho is expected to complete a move to Tottenham. Anderson is a doubt after being withdrawn against Bournemouth.

Predicted Lineup: Donnarumma; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Guehi, Kovacic; Cherki, Foden, Semenyo; Haaland.

• City won both league meetings 3-0 last season, including at Selhurst Park in December.
• Palace haven’t beaten City in the Premier League at Selhurst Park since April 2015.
• Palace failed to score at Everton despite creating two clear first-half chances.
• City have conceded first in two of their last three competitive fixtures.
• Both teams scored in just one of the last four meetings across all competitions.

I’m tipping City, but it should be tight. 

Selhurst Park under the Friday night lights is hostile, and Sage will have his squad wound up after Everton. Palace will create chances - they did at Goodison, they just couldn’t convert.

City’s depth is too much. Even a reshuffled squad with no Rodri found a way from a losing position on day one. If Cherki starts, the creativity goes up a level. I’m expecting a scrappy first half and City pulling away after the break.

For those tracking this through the live betting sites, the in-play markets could be worth a look if Palace waste their early chances again.

Manchester City Win to Nil @ $2.50

Palace couldn’t score against Everton. 

Without Eze’s guile and with Sarr’s future up in the air, I’m struggling to see where the goals come from. Mateta was wasteful at Goodison, and the supporting cast isn’t firing yet.

City’s defence wasn’t flawless against Bournemouth, but they were caught by one long ball - not a systemic issue. Ruben Dias and Abdukodir Khusanov looked composed, and Gvardiol was dominant on the left. Guehi, who spent four years at Palace before joining City, will know exactly where his former teammates like to play.

At $2.50, City to shut Palace out is the angle I’m backing on the best legal betting sites in New Zealand.