Preview: Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester City will seek to bounce back immediately from their EFL Cup heartbreak when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium for Saturday's Premier League encounter.

The champions currently occupy third spot in the table after nine games, while draw specialists Palace are down in 15th following four successive stalemates.

Match preview

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If any side was going to break Brighton & Hove Albion's defensive resilience, it was free-scoring Man City, who chalked up a quartet of goals on the South Coast to ease to a 4-1 victory over Graham Potter's men last weekend.

Phil Foden bagged a brace while Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez also found the back of the net at the Amex Stadium, with Alexis Mac Allister's penalty proving to be little more than a consolation for the home side.

However, Foden went from hero zero as City's quest of an unprecedented fifth EFL Cup crown in succession came to an end in midweek, with the England starlet failing to convert from 12 yards as West Ham United advanced to the quarter-finals.

Pep Guardiola certainly has bigger fish to fry than the EFL Cup, though, as third-placed City seek to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Chelsea, who are one and two points ahead of them in the top three of the table respectively.

Now unbeaten in eight Premier League games since their opening-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, City's tally of 12 goals on home soil is the second-best record in the league behind Chelsea's 16, and they are the only team in the division yet to concede on familiar territory so far this term.

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Crystal Palace were not involved in midweek EFL Cup action following their August defeat at the hands of Watford, which has given Patrick Vieira ample time to figure out a way to end his side's run of stalemates in the Premier League.

After sharing the points with Brighton, Leicester City and Arsenal, the Palace faithful harboured hopes of a long-awaited win when Christian Benteke put them ahead against Newcastle United, but Callum Wilson equalised just nine minutes later in the second half to force another stalemate for Palace.

The Eagles' failure to convert one point into three has bedevilled them in the past few weeks, and Vieira's side currently sit 15th in the Premier League as a result but are five points clear of the dotted line, despite claiming just one win so far this season.

Finding the back of the net is not the problem for Vieira's crop - who have scored in six of their last seven Premier League games - but failure to shut up shop at the other end has seen them concede 10 goals away from home already this season - not a good omen before a daunting trip to the home of the champions.

Palace did prevail at the Etihad as recently as December 2018 - thanks in no small part to Andros Townsend's thunderbolt - but City won both fixtures in the 2020-21 season by an aggregate score of 6-0, including a 4-0 success on home soil.

Team News

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City continue to cope without Ferran Torres as he works his way back from a foot fracture, but Guardiola otherwise has no fresh injury concerns to work around for this contest.

The likes of Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo are all set for recalls to the first XI, although next week's crunch matches with Club Brugge and Manchester United must be taken into account here.

Mahrez and Raheem Sterling should drop to the bench as Gabriel Jesus and Jack Grealish return out wide, with Foden continuing as the focal point of attack after his strong showing at the Amex.

As for Palace, long-term victims Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson are making progress in their recoveries but are not ready to return just yet, and the visitors did not report any further issues from the draw with Newcastle.

Wilfried Zaha took his spot on the bench for that encounter after recovering from illness - with Michael Olise earning a deserved start in his place - but the Ivorian should certainly make the first XI this time.

There should be no further surprises in the Eagles' XI, with Conor Gallagher holding his spot in the engine room alongside James McArthur and Luka Milivojevic.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Jesus, Foden, Grealish

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; McArthur, Milivojevic, Gallagher; Edouard, Benteke, Zaha

We say: Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace

Palace's inability to keep the back door shut away from home is once again set to contribute to their downfall this weekend, especially with City running riot at the Etihad so far this term.

There is no doubting the youthful talent in Vieira's ranks at Selhurst Park, but we cannot see any shocks happening on the blue side of Manchester.

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