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Crystal Palace v Man City: Cityzens looking to take major step to title

Manchester City can take a huge leap towards securing another Premier League title this weekend - if they can overcome Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Pep Guardiola's side grabbed the initiative in their Champions League semi-final in midweek and turn their attention back to league duties on Saturday.

When: Saturday, April 30, 12:30 GMT

How to watch: BT Sport

Best bets

Manchester City to win 3-1 at 12/1 (bet365)

Ferran Torres to score at 14/5 (Sky Bet)

Both teams to score at 11/10 (William Hill)

A Riyad Mahrez free-kick gave Man City a 2-1 away win against Paris Saint-Germain and they face a trip to London in between the two legs. Marquinhos got PSG off to a flyer but the English powerhouses grew into the game and got their reward when a Kevin De Bruyne cross found its way into the net before Mahrez confirmed City would travel back holding a precious one-goal lead.

Crystal Palace will be the fresher of the two teams, but they have only won one of their last seven league games, including Monday's collapse against Leicester, which they lost 2-1. They have suffered heavy 4-1 defeats at the hands of Chelsea and Tottenham recently and face another big club in the shape of Manchester City on Saturday.

Roy Hodgson reacts to his side's loss

Roy Hodgson's side though, have not been playing badly and to their credit played very well against Leicester and were somewhat unlucky to not come away with at least a point.
Pretty much safe from the drop, Palace will want to end the season with some good performances with many players expected to leave the club in the summer due to their contracts coming to an end.

Last three Premier League meetings:

Manchester City 4-0 Crystal Palace (January 17, 2021)

Pep Guardiola's side ran out winners in the reverse fixture after defeating The Eagles 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
John Stones opened the scoring 25 minutes in to give City a deserved lead at the half-time interval.
10 minutes into the second half Ilkay Gundogan doubled the home side's advantage, before Stones grabbed his second, and City's third to move Guardiola's team out of sight.
Raheem Sterling added a fourth with a minute of normal time remaining, to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games.

Manchester City 2-2 Crystal Palace (January 18, 2020)

The hosts feel further adrift of runaway leaders Liverpool after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. The result put them 13 points behind their north west rivals.
De Bruyne struck the crossbar with a curling free-kick early in the match. Palace did score with their first shot on goal when Turkish frontman Cenk Tosun was left unmarked to head home.
City's comeback started with a Sergio Aguero volley at the back post in the 82nd minute and the lethal Argentinian was himself left unmarked to head a Benjamin Mendy cross in past Vicente Guaita.
Gurdiola's men believed they had done enough to win the match but Fernandinho managed to turn Wilfried Zaha's low cross into his own goal and Palace had secured an unlikely point at The Etihad.

Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester City (October 19, 2019)

The 2-0 victory for City meant that Palace had not won in their last five home games against their opponents.
Man City started on the front foot but had to wait until the 39th minute to take the lead through Gabriel Jesus. Less than two minutes had passed before David Silva volleyed expertly into the net from inside the box to effectively kill off any hopes for Crystal Palace.
Ederson tipped a Benteke header onto the crossbar but the hopes failed to create any more clear cut chances and City came away with the victory.

Premier League head-to-head

Played: 21

Crystal Palace won: 3

Drawn: 5

Manchester City won: 13

Crystal Palace scored: 14

Manchester City scored: 44

A question of when not if...

Manchester City find themselves edging closer to the Premier League title as rivals Manchester United failed to keep the pressure up. A 0-0 draw with Leeds United put the ball firmly in City's court and Pep's men require just two wins from their remaining five games.

Manchester City's Premier League fixtures:

Crystal Palace (A)
Chelsea (H)
Newcastle (A)
Brighton (A)
Everton (H)

A straightforward task it would seem for The Citizens who face an out-of-sorts Crystal Palace team on Saturday lunchtime, with a win moving them needing a sole victory in their final four matches, providing Manchester United do win against Liverpool on Sunday.

Guardiola is once again expected to rotate his side, which he is likely to have a full strength squad to pick from, meaning he can rest any tired legs after the trip to Paris. With a treble still in sight, City will want to be firing on all cylinders in every game left this season.

Scoreline prediction: Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester City

In what is seen widely as a routine victory for City, Crystal Palace could potentially cause their opponents a few scares although ultimately, I do not expect the away team to drop any points at Selhurst Park.
Palace carried a goal threat against Leicester and if they can get on the scoresheet it is likely to be from a cross or a set piece. Manchester City's danger, on the other hand, comes in every form and they have the ability to score from any given situation. Their attacking threat is expected to be far too strong for a defensively fragile side.

Goalscorer bets

Ferran Torres has scored goals whenever he has been given the opportunity and Saturday could provide the Spaniard with a good chance to get his name on the scoresheet.

He is priced at 14/5 to score a goal with Sky Bet.

Wilfried Zaha scored against Leicester earlier in the week and he is available at 19/5 to score with Unibet.

Ferran Torres celebrates his equaliser

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