Crystal Palace v Manchester City – A Early Look At The Opposition

Manchester City travel to south London on Saturday evening as the face Crystal Palace as Premier League fixtures return following the international break.

The blues recorded a vital 3-1 win at Selhurst Park last season on their way to beating Liverpool to the Premier League title, however the Eagles did pull off a shock result against City, winning 3-2 at the Etihad earlier in the season.

Roy Hodgson’s side are flying high at the moment as the Eagles sit in sixth place in the Premier League, having won four of their eight games so far this season and are currently unbeaten at home. Palace have won two of their four home games, beating Aston Villa 1-0 and Norwich City 2-0. Their other two games have seen them draw 0-0 on the opening day at home to Everton and 1-1 with Wolves.

In August, Palace played host to Colchester United in the League Cup, but their weakened side failed to break through the League One side’s defence, and after a goalless 90 minutes, Colchester won 5-4 on penalties.

Away from home it’s a similar story, with Palace winning two of their four games, most notably a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in August.

Palace’s form in their first eight games this season is in stark contrast to last time around. At this stage last year, Palace were 14^th in the league, had won just two matches, lost five and claimed just seven points. Goal wise, Palace had scored five and conceded nine, in comparison to this season, where they have scored and conceded eight.

The season prior was even worse as Palace sat bottom of the table after eight matches, losing seven, winning one and conceding 18 times. This season’s position represents an amazing turnaround for the Eagles under Hodgson, and they will be looking to capitalise on City’s woes after shock defeats to Norwich and Wolves.

Despite their unbeaten home status, Palace have scored just four goals at home this season, but crucially, have conceded just one goal. Three of those goals have come in the second half , while the only goal scored in the first half came in the 21^st minute form the penalty spot against Norwich. By comparison, City have scored 13 away from home already this season, including five at West Ham on the opening day.

Jordan Ayew is Palace’s top scorer so far this season with three goals. He scored the opener at Old Trafford and the winner at home to Villa and away at West Ham. Palace have lost one of their last five games, winning three and drawing one.

If the blues are to keep pace with the leaders, they will need top scorer Raheem Sterling and record scorer Sergio Aguero to be on top form against the Eagles. Palace have shown already this season how capable they are of springing surprises, so City will need to be on their game in Saturday if they are to leave Selhurst Park with three points.