Crystal Palace vs Manchester City, Premier League Matchday 33: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 English Premier League Season – Matchday 33

Date/Time: Crystal Palace vs Manchester City – Sunday, 13 April 2019, 14:00 (UK); 09:00 EST, 06:00 PST (USA)

Venue: Selhurst Park, London, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Assistants: Lee Betts, Adam Nunn

Fourth Official: David Coote

TV Info: Sky Sports Premier League (UK); NBCSN (USA)

Live Stream: SKY GO Extra (UK); NBC Sports Live, Fubo.tv (USA) Fubo.tv shows every Manchester City game with a high-quality and legal stream. New to Fubo.tv? Click here to sign up for a discounted rate.

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK); TalkSport Radio World (USA)

Preview:

After a break in play between the FA Cup Semi-Final and the English Premier League, the EPL has returned to its normal schedule. Crystal Palace will host Manchester City on Sunday.

The Eagles scrapped past a strong, defensive Newcastle United side last weekend as Luka Milivojević’s penalty was the difference. The Serbian has scored 10 of his 11 penalties this season, and Wilfried Zaha played a large part as the Ivorian has won six penalties this season for Palace. Despite these impressive statistics, the Eagles only sit in 12 in the EPL table and are eight points from seventh, the final European spot awarded to English clubs. Palace had their fair share of difficulties this season, but as they look for a higher standing in the table they will also have an opportunity to play spoiler in the EPL title race.

Manchester City received a wake up call on Tuesday as they were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Quarter-final. Sergio Agüero missed a spot kick, and this turned the game on its head as City were unable to find their rhythm in the match. After surviving a potentially shocking result against Swansea City in the FA Cup Quarter-final, and coasting past Fulham, Cardiff City and Brighton & Hove Albion, City will have to regroup for this fixture. But a major question looms over this match: will City field a weaker team on Sunday to rest their star players for the second leg against Spurs in the Champions League? Or will City look to keep pace with Liverpool for the EPL title?

Team News:

Crystal Palace are without the injured Mamadou Sakho. Bakary Sako and Pape Ndiaye Souare have returned from their injury spells and are back in training, although they remain doubtful for this fixture.

Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Claudio Bravo are injured and will not feature in this match. It is predicted Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho and Sergio Agüero will be rested in preparation for the UEFA Champions League Quarter-final second leg against Tottenham on Wednesday.

Possible Lineups:

Crystal Palace

Formation: 4-4-2

Guaita; Wan-Bissaka, Kelly, Tomkins, van Aanholt; Townsend, McArthur, Milivojević, Kouyaté; Batshuayi, Zaha

Manager: Roy Hodgson

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Danilo; De Bruyne, Gündoğan, D. Silva; Mahrez, Jesus, Sané

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Prediction:

Crystal Palace already shocked Manchester City earlier this season, where the Eagles won 2-3 at the Etihad in December. Having defeated the current Champions of England once before, Palace will believe they can do it again. Moreover, they have nothing to lose should they attempt to do the double over City this season.

Meanwhile, the Sky Blues will have their own motivations to win this match. They play this fixture ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea. Should the Sky Blues earn a result, this could put the pressure back on the Reds in what will be a difficult encounter at Anfield. A result on Sunday would also serve as an additional boost for City as they look to take on Tottenham on Wednesday.

Simply put, City are at the final crunch period of the season and cannot afford another error. Should they fail to earn a result on Sunday, it is likely Liverpool will win the EPL title. Given the stakes, City will give this match their all. It will not be easy, but by full time the Sky Blues will still find themselves in contention for the EPL title.

Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City