Man City vs Palace Prediction: Premier League Betting Tips & Odds

Manchester City welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad on Wednesday evening UK time - Thursday morning for us in New Zealand - with the Premier League title race heading into its final stretch.

City are five points off Arsenal with a game in hand and three still to play. Winning them all would get City to 83 points, but they’d still need Arsenal to slip up in their final two fixtures. It’s not over, but it’s close.

In this Manchester City vs Crystal Palace preview, I’ve gone through form and key angles, plus a team goals pick at north of $2.50 for those browsing football betting options this week.

Manchester City

Four wins from their last five in the league. City’s 3-0 thumping of Brentford on Saturday was exactly the response needed after that crazy 3-3 with Everton, where they had to claw back from 3-1 down. Jeremy Doku opened the scoring with a curling stunner, and Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush added late goals to close it out convincingly.

Doku has scored in three consecutive appearances across all competitions and is arguably City’s most dangerous player right now. Haaland has 26 Premier League goals for the season. I don’t need to say much more.

City are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games (W12 D3), scoring at least two in 13 of those. Palace have struggled at the Etihad for years, and with City needing every point, I’d expect them to go at this one from the first whistle.

Team News: Rodri is out with a groin injury. Gvardiol returned to training but wasn’t in the squad against Brentford and is unlikely to feature. Khusanov is not fully fit. Dias came off the bench at the weekend and could start. Kovacic is available.

Predicted Lineup: Donnarumma; Nunes, Guehi, Ake, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Reijnders; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.

Crystal Palace

Palace’s focus is elsewhere. The Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on May 27 is the biggest game in their history, and Glasner has already started rotating in the league to protect players for it.

Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Everton at Selhurst was a case in point. Glasner went surprisingly strong, but that’s two points from their last three league outings. A 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth and a 3-1 loss at Liverpool preceded it. Motivation for a dead-rubber midweek trip to the Etihad won’t be high.

Jorgen Strand Larsen has four Premier League goals since joining from Wolves in February, but he’s been anonymous in away games recently. Ismaila Sarr got on the scoresheet against Everton and has been their most consistent attacking threat.

Team News: Nketiah (thigh) and Doucoure (knee) are out for the season. Sosa is a doubt with an unspecified issue. Guessand is working his way back from a knee problem. Significant rotation is expected with Leipzig in mind.

Predicted Lineup: Henderson; Richards, Riad, Canvot; Munoz, Lerma, Hughes, Cardines; Devenny, Johnson; Strand Larsen.

• City have won 12 of their last 15 Premier League home games.
• Palace haven’t won at the Etihad in the league since October 2020.
• City won 3-0 at Selhurst Park in December, with Haaland scoring twice.
• Over 2.5 goals has hit in 13 of City’s last 15 home league games.
• Palace have won just one of their last five Premier League away games.

It’s hard to see anything other than a comfortable City win here. Palace’s priorities are in Leipzig, not Manchester, and even at full strength they’ve found it almost impossible to get a result at the Etihad in recent years. Glasner will rotate. City can’t afford to drop points. It’s a bad combination for Palace.

I think City score early and cruise. Haaland tends to enjoy games against Palace, and with Doku in the form of his life, I’d be surprised if City didn’t have this done by half-time. 3-0 or 3-1 feels about right.

If you’re tracking new betting sites for some value, there might be better odds on City’s winning margin than on the outright result given how short they are.

Manchester City Over 2.5 Team Goals @ $2.60

City have scored three or more in their last two home games (3-3 Everton, 3-0 Brentford) and in 13 of 15 at the Etihad this season they’ve found the net at least twice. 

Against a Palace side likely to rest key players with Leipzig looming, I expect them to go well beyond that. Haaland has 26 league goals and Doku has scored in three straight. Marmoush added a goal on his cameo at the weekend too.

At $2.60, I’m happy to back it on the free bets available across New Zealand’s top bookmakers.