Crystal Palace vs Man City LIVE: Premier League team news, line-ups and more today
Manchester City could move to within a single win of reclaiming the Premier League title on Saturday, as they face Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola knows his team are just two victories from being crowned champions – though it could happen this weekend if they beat Palace and Man United lose to Liverpool on Sunday.
The Cityzens also have their eyes on European glory and have the edge over PSG in the Champions League semi-final after taking a first-leg lead.
Palace have won just one of their last six as their campaign seems to be ending in limp fashion once again, with mid-table safety assured but no real prospect of pushing into the top 10. A win would take them level on points with 12th-place Wolves, but there would be no climb for Roy Hodgson’s side as they have a vastly inferior goal difference.
Pep Guardiola says the season is already exceptional regardless of picking up more trophies with Man City – but their Premier League triumph is a mere inevitability at this stage.
Follow our coverage of Crystal Palace vs Manchester City below, as well as all the rest of the day’s action in the Premier League.
READ MORE:
- From fan hostility to boardroom conspiracy, Manchester United and Liverpool meet in sour derby
- Man City season is ‘exceptional’ and ‘extraordinary’ regardless of more trophies, says Pep Guardiola
- Manchester City will not celebrate Premier League title on social media if they seal crown this weekend
- Why Independent Sport is joining football’s social media boycott
- Kylian Mbappe injury: PSG forward a doubt for Man City second leg after sustaining calf issue
Crystal Palace get the game started
Crystal Palace 0 – 0 Man City
Kick off: Eberchi Eze kicks off the match with a pass back to Cheikou Kouyate who boots a long ball ddown the left wing. It goes out of play and Manchester City have a throw in.
11 in a row?
Man City can equal the Premier League record of 11 straight away wins, jointly held by Chelsea and City themselves after their respective runs between April-December 2008 and May-December 2017.
Guardiola focused on winning
Yesterday Pep Guardiola was asked about Man City potentially winning the Premier League this weekend and he gave a short reply saying his focus is on beating Crystal Palace:
Let me travel to London and wake up good and then try to win the game, the rest we cannot control,
“Always Palace so difficult for us, I don’t remember an easy game.”
'The best in the league’
Crystal Palace boss, Roy Hodgson, says his side have their work cut out for them today as they’re facing the ‘best team in the league’ in Manchester City. He said:
You always approach games with Manchester City, certainly over the last four years I have been at Crystal Palace, with extreme trepidation because they are that good,
“We don’t expect it to be easy and we know we will be punished for any mistakes we make, but that is par for the course when you play the best team in the league.
“I am hoping we will even be playing against the best team in Europe because I would love to see them win the Champions League.”
Head-to-head
Crystal Palace have lost 13 of the last 17 Premier League meetings between the two sides and have failed to score on 10 occasions.
Manchester City’s most recent defeat at Selhurst Park was 2-1 on 6th April 2015. They are unbeaten in their subsequent six matches there, including five Premier League fixtures with five wins and one draw.
No social media celebrations for Man City
If Manchester City do manage to secure the Premier League title this weekend there will be no social media celebrations as they’re committed to football’s social media boycott:
Manchester City will not celebrate Premier League title on social media if they seal crown this weekend
City have joined football’s social media boycott which aims to raise awareness of online abuse
Social media blackout
All the clubs in the Premier League have shut down their social media accounts this weekend in a protest against online abuse, they’re being joined by clubs from the lower leagues and teams from across the sporting world in an attempt to make social media companies more responsible for the content on their platforms:
The equation
It could be a big week for Manchester City. They can reach the Champions League final for the first time in their history and can secure their fifth Premier League title.
It’s simple. If they win at Crystal Palace in today’s early game and Liverpool defeat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday then Manchester City win the title. Game on.
Crystal Palace vs Man City – Changes
Palace boss, Roy Hodgson, makes two changes from last week’s defeat at Leicester, with Tyrick Mitchell and Andros Townsend coming into the starting line-up.
Mitchell replaces Patrick van Aanholt, while Townsend starts in place of Jordan Ayew wiht both Van Aanholt and Ayew dropping to the bench.
Unsurprising, with this game sandwiched in-between the two legs of the Champions League semi-final, Pep Guardiola sweeps in the changes. Only three players keep their place from Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain, Ederson, Rodri and Joao Cancelo.
Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling both return to the team.
Team news – Crystal Palace vs Man City
CPFC XI: Guaita; Ward, Kouyate, Dann, Mitchell; Riedewald, Milivojevic, Eze, Townsend; Benteke, Zaha
MCFC XI: Ederson; Cancelo, Laporte, Ake, Mendy; Torres, Fernandinho, Rodri, Sterling; Jesus, Aguero
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