Preview: Crystal Palace vs Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Two new managers finding their feet are set to lock horns on Friday, when Crystal Palace face Manchester City at Selhurst Park for their first Premier League home game of the season.

The Eagles will be hoping to bounce back from their opening-day defeat, while the Citizens are looking to continue their winning start to the campaign.

Match preview

Palace enjoyed a historic couple of seasons under the guidance of former boss Oliver Glasner, culminating in FA Cup and Conference League triumphs, and leaving current head coach Pierre Sage a lot to live up to.

While it would be unfair to expect the ex-Lens chief to replicate his predecessor's level of success immediately, fans will be doubting their chances this week, given the team is up against one of the modern English game's most dominant forces.

Adding to that feeling is the fact that Sage's men kicked off their term with a 2-0 loss against Everton, a game that saw them concede either side of half time to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry.

That being said, Palace may consider themselves unlucky to have been beaten at all, knowing that they generated 1.96 expected goals compared to the Toffees' 1.12, and that better finishing could have turned their four big chances missed into three points.

If the Eagles are to avoid defeat on Friday, they will need to put their shooting boots on, given they have lost six of their last 10 meetings with City and only won once across that stretch - the Londoners' famous 1-0 victory in the 2025 FA Cup final.

Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca's Man City are taking their first steps into the post-Pep Guardiola era, and while their opening performance was far from perfect, they collected the all-important points.

The Citizens bounced back after their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield by beating Bournemouth 2-1 last Sunday.

Maresca's side found themselves a goal down at half time against the Cherries, but an 84th-minute equaliser from Marc Guehi and a stoppage-time winner courtesy of Josko Gvardiol turned the contest on its head.

The Sky Blues will be hoping for a more straightforward victory on Friday, yet fans will be aware of the fact that the team have not been able to keep a single clean sheet under their new manager so far.

To make matters worse, City triumphed in just two of their final five away league fixtures last season, and with the squad currently in transition, it remains to be seen how they fare on the road in 2026-27.

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

Palace will be without reported Liverpool target Ismaila Sarr this week as he continues individual training to recover from a groin injury, so Dwight McNeil and Eddie Nketiah may start behind striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.

At the opposite end of the pitch, centre-back Chadi Riad is sidelined due to a knee injury, though Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards and Takehiro Tomiyasu should be on hand to form Sage's trio in defence.

As for Man City, they are missing left winger Jeremy Doku while he works his way back into contention following a calf issue.

In his absence, Phil Foden, Nico O'Reilly and Antoine Semenyo look set to line up as a three-man attacking unit, supporting talismanic centre-forward Erling Haaland.

Elsewhere, midfielder Elliot Anderson is a doubt as he recovers from a thigh problem, and if he is unavailable, Mateo Kovacic could start alongside Marc Guehi in Maresca's double pivot.

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Canvot, Richards, Tomiyasu; Munoz, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; McNeil, Nketiah; Mateta

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Guehi; Foden, O'Reilly, Semenyo; Haaland

We say: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City

Palace may have lost against Everton, but they created enough chances to score at least once, and may do so on Friday if they can prove less wasteful.

City should have the firepower to pull off a narrow win this week, even if they concede and make the contest a close one.

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