Manchester City would be handed a big boost in their bid to play Champions League football next season if they beat Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The Premier League clash will be shown live on TNT Sports 1, kicking off at 12:30pm.
Man City predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace
Man City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gundogan, Kovacic; Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku; Marmoush
Man City team news vs Crystal Palace
Man City will be five men short for Saturday’s clash. Erling Haaland is the most recent absentee for Pep Guardiola’s side, with the striker having been ruled out for “between five and seven weeks” at the start of the month.
John Stones suffered a thigh injury back in February and the England international is not expected to be back until next month.
Nathan Ake has been out since he was forced off at half-time during Man City’s 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fifth round last month. The Dutchman had surgery on a fracture in his left foot and could be out for the season.
Meanwhile, Manuel Akanji is not set to return until the end of April at the earliest. Rodri was expected to be out until the end of the season after he ruptured his ACL last September.
However, Guardiola revealed last month that the reigning Ballon d’Or winner could feature for Man City again before the Premier League concludes in May.
Man City’s early kick-off woes
Man City are yet to win any of their Saturday 12:30pm kick-offs this season, with a record of one draw and two losses in their three attempts.
Most recently, Guardiola’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest last month, while they also lost 2-1 to Aston Villa in December and were held to a 1-1 draw when they met Newcastle United at St James’ Park in September.
However, Man City have generally looked strong at the Etihad in the Premier League this season, having logged nine wins, three draws and three losses in front of their home fans.
Twenty of Man City’s 31 games (64.5%) in the league this season have seen three or more goals scored by both sides combined – almost two-thirds of their matches.
Meanwhile, Palace come into Saturday’s fixture in rampant form. Oliver Glasner’s side have won nine of their last 11 games in all competitions, and have stepped up their bid to qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League, as they sit five points off eighth-placed
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