Manchester City look to regain their momentum following two difficult fixtures over the previous week, as Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace make the trip up north.
To say that the Cityzens’ previous two fixtures have proven to be a challenge would be quite the understatement, as the reigning champions have drawn in their previous two fixtures.
In their most recent domestic fixture against Newcastle United, despite coming out strong early, scoring five minutes into the game, the Blues had to dig themselves out of a 3-1 hole.
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Goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland were enough to salvage the point, which helped City stay in the race for the top spots in the Premier League table.
The Sky Blues’ recent charity match against Barcelona proved to follow a similar script.
Despite Julian Alvarez scoring early on after a mistake by Barca goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, the English side found themselves 3-2 down.
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Riyad Mahrez converted a penalty in the 99th minute of play, after Haaland was tripped within Barcelona’s penalty box, which managed to bring the game level in the dying embers.
During the charity match, Manchester City suffered two further blows to their squad; as Kalvin Phillips, who was just returning from an injury, was forced off after suffering an injury to his arm.
The second Sky Blue player to get injured at Spotify Camp Nou was teenager Luke Mbete, who was taken off the pitch in a neck brace after he nastily collided with Andreas Christensen deep into the second half.
These injuries only add to Pep Guardiola’s growing casualty list.
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Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake and Jack Grealish all remained absent from the Catalan’s squad in midweek.
On the other side of the ticket sits Crystal Palace, who have had a strong start of the season.
Following their 2-0 defeat to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in the season opener, Vieira’s side have been on fire, beating Aston Villa 3-1 and drawing with Liverpool.
In their recent game against Oxford United in the second round of the Carabao Cup, the Eagles cruised past the League One side 2-0, moving on to face off against the Magpies in the third round.
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When?
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace will kick off at 15:00 (BST) on Saturday 27th August.
Where?
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The match will take place at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.
How to Watch?
Due to the 3pm blackout, Manchester City’s clash with the Eagles will not be broadcasted live for viewers in the United Kingdom.
However for fans in the United States, the match will be broadcasted on Peacock starting at 10:00 A.M. EST.
Find out how you can watch Saturday’s fixture here.
Topics: Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Premier League
Declan Harris