PARDEWS' MEN LOOK TO INFLICT FURTHER MISERY ON CITY
Alan Pardews' men who sit comfortably 12th on the table will be looking to inflict further damage on a side who not too long ago looked like the only team with a possible chance of catching run away leaders Chelsea. How things have changed, City now sit 4th behind Arsenal and cross town rivals United. A big drop in form has seen them win only twice in their last 5 games in all competitions, losing the other three including a 1-0 defeat to Barcelona that saw them get knocked out of the Champions League.
City know nothing less than 3 points will be good enough, they'll have to match their performance at Selhurst Park last season if they are to walk away victorious. Then and only then they can hope of overhauling Chelsea a task that looks impossible to me even if they do win. What's even worse for all City fans is that, a defeat will leave them a point off rivals United heading into the Manchester derby this coming Sunday.
Palace come into this game on the back of two victories against QPR and Stoke city but have failed to record points against City in the last seven games failing to score a goal in the four most recent meetings. Marouane Chamakh remains sidelined with a hamstring injury so as to Fraizer Campbell, while Mile Jedinak is suspended and Jordon Mutch misses out with a thigh injury.
City will welcome back Yaya Toure who missed the 3-0 win against West Brom due to an achilles injury and Aleksandr Kolarov who had a thigh problem.
Probable line-ups;
Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1)
Speron; Dann, Delaney, Kelly, Ward; Ledley, McArthur; Bolasie, Zaha, Puncheon; Murray
Manchester City (4-4-2)
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Kolarov; Nasri, Toure, Fernandinho, Silva; Aguero, Bony.
Key Players
Crystal Palace
Yannick Bolasie; His pace and trickery can cause defenders problems, whichever wing he is deployed, Kolarov and Zabaleta will have to be sharp the whole 90 minutes.
Wilfried Zaha; Another talented winger with a lot of tricks up his sleeve. Expect to see the three players playing behind the front man to rotate at will. This may cause City problems.
Jason Puncheon; At his game he can cause trouble. He'll have to be at his very best and link up well with the players around him if Palace are to get anything.
Manchester City
David Silva; Probably the best playmaker in the league, his vision and passing ability can split the tightest of defense open. Ledley and McArthur will have to find away to stop him as he'll be drifting more central from out wide.
Yaya Toure; City will be glad to have the powerhouse back to the line up. His runs from midfield that look like an electric train in full speed will definitely cause problems to the Palace defense.
Sergio Aguero; His form has been a worry, but all it takes this man is one sniff at goal and he will punish you. Allow him too much space and pay the price.
Prediction; Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City
Selhurst Park is never an easy place to go just ask Spurs and Liverpool fans. When Crystal Palace get going they have so much pace in attack that they can hurt the best of teams. Unfortunately, City HAVE TO WIN! so they won't be taking this game lightly. They will just do enough to win it with Aguero scoring the winning goal.
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