Man City vs Crystal Palace Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Manchester City know any further slip-ups would virtually extinguish their Premier League title ambitions as they host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in a crucial Wednesday night clash. City eased past the Eagles in December’s reverse fixture at Selhurst Park, running out 3-0 winners thanks to a Phil Foden strike and an Erling Haaland double.

City go into this match as the unsurprising favourites at 2/11 with BetGoodwin while Palace are 10/1 with Sky Bet and a draw is 6/1 with Paddy Power . You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers .

After a chaotic and costly 3-3 draw away at Everton, Guardiola’s side responded in the best possible way at the weekend, beating Brentford 3-0 at home. Second-half goals from Jeremy Doku, Haaland and Omar Marmoush sealed the points, but City’s hopes of immediate help elsewhere were dashed as leaders Arsenal edged West Ham 1-0 on Sunday — a game decided amid late controversy after VAR ruled out a potential Hammers equaliser.

That outcome leaves City five points behind at the top, although victory over Palace would trim the deficit to two. An FA Cup final arrives this weekend, before City close their league campaign against Bournemouth and Europa League finalists Aston Villa.

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Guardiola’s men also know that dropping points on Wednesday would open the door for Arsenal to clinch the title in their final home match against relegated Burnley next Monday. Still, City can lean on formidable midweek home form, remaining unbeaten in 36 Premier League home matches played on a Wednesday since May 2010. They have not lost a league game at the Etihad since late August, have scored at least twice in 14 of their last 16 home outings, and have been beaten only once in their last nine meetings with Palace in all competitions - a 1-0 loss in the 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley.

Palace arrive in Manchester just days after booking their place in the Conference League final, and they followed that historic achievement by fighting back twice to draw 2-2 with Everton at Selhurst Park on Sunday. With Oliver Glasner set to depart, the Palace boss praised a “huge performance” from his side, who are now mathematically safe. The Eagles sit 15th, eight points clear of the bottom three, and nine points off the top seven with three matches remaining.

Palace’s 44-point tally ensures they will finish with fewer points than last season’s 53, but a push up the table remains possible, with only five points separating them from ninth place. After this trip they face Brentford away and Arsenal at home to finish the league season.

While the Etihad is a daunting venue, Palace have shown unexpected resilience there in recent years, scoring two or more in six of their last seven visits and taking eight points in total over that run. They have actually earned slightly more points away from home than at Selhurst Park this season, though their recent road form has been mixed, with six defeats in their last nine away league matches - including the last two, against Liverpool and Bournemouth, by an aggregate score of 6-1.

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Khusanov is a doubt for Man City after missing Brentford with a knock, so Aké could again partner ex-Palace captain Guéhi at centre-back. Late checks will also be made on Gvardiol and Rodri (groin), with Reijnders or Nico González options in midfield if Rodri is out. Doku is expected to keep his place after four goals in three games, while Haaland (26 league goals) leads the line and has eight in five league games against Palace.

For Palace, Nketiah (hamstring) and Doucouré (muscle) remain sidelined, while Sosa and Guessand are unlikely to be ready despite returning to training. Sarr could continue in attack after scoring his 20th of the season, with Mateta and Pino also in contention. Hughes and Lerma are pushing for midfield returns, but Wharton and Kamada may stay in, with Muñoz and Mitchell again the wing-backs in a 3-4-2-1.

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