Man City were shockingly held to a 3-3 draw by Newcastle United as Eddie Howe’s side matched their rivals toe to toe in every area of the pitch and next up, Guardiola’s boys will have to face the test of Crystal Palace.
Palace is another of those minnows who have made a superb start to their campaign, drawing against Liverpool at Anfield and most recently, picking up a 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
While City will obviously go into this game as the overwhelming favourites but Vieira’s side play a brand of football that can cause the home side some discomfort.
Against Liverpool, the Eagles were willing to sit back and play on the counter and we think they will use the same ploy against Guardiola’s men as well. The City boss will be hoping to see a response from his players because anything other than a win will push them out of the top four.
City will play a charity match against Barcelona on Wednesday meaning they will have one day less to rest before Palace come to town.
Man City predicted line up vs Crystal Palace:
Nathan Ake picked up a groin injury so he will definitely be missing the Barcelona game and there’s a big chance that he’s going to be absent next weekend as well.
If Ake is not ready then Ruben Dias and John Stones will pair up in central defence.
Speaking about Ake’s injury, the manager said: ‘I think it’s [his] groin. If he’s out it’s because he’s injured. Otherwise, he would be there[at Barcelona].’
After Zinchenko’s exit, Joao Cancelo is the undisputed left-back at the club while Kyle Walker plays on the right-hand side.
Kalvin Phillips is yet to make his presence felt at the club and after that 3-3 draw there’s very little chance the summer signing is going to come into the side, in place of Rodri.
Strong team spirit today! 🔵 #mancity pic.twitter.com/RccnRDW5dZ
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) August 21, 2022
Jack Grealish missed the Newcastle game with a knee injury but it’s a small injury so he could be fit in time for the Crystal Palace game. If Grealish is coming back then Phil Foden could be the one who moves to the bench because Bernardo Silva and Gundogan were both outstanding last weekend.
The manager is not going to make radical changes to his first XI because he does not have too many options but the players at his disposal should be more than enough to pick up all three points.
Man City predicted line up vs Crystal Palace:
Predicted Starting XI(4-3-3): Ruben Dias, Stones, Walker, Cancelo; Rodri, Gundogan, De Bruyne; Foden/Grealish, Haaland, Silva.
