Manchester City travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The Blues remain unsure as to whether they will be led by Pep Guardiola, who missed media duties on Friday due to a “personal
issue,” but the Catalan boss is expected to be on the touchline on Sunday.
Both sides are off the back of impressive European wins in midweek, with City beating Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu in the UEFA Champions League and Palace thrashing Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Here are five things to look out for as City face Oliver Glasner’s men:
Palace’s right vs City’s left
The right hand side of Palace’s attack that tore City to shreds to bag the winner in the FA Cup final are both set to be unavailable to play this Sunday.
Ismailla Sarr is hoping to be fit but will be unlikely to start after spending two weeks out with an ankle ligament injury, whilst Daniel Munoz is undergoing an operation on his knee.
City, meanwhile, have Jeremy Doku and Nico O’Reilly both in fine form on the left flank. They compliment each other’s game very well as they’re both comfortable drifting inside or holding width, and I expect them to get the better of the duels down that side.
Rotation from Madrid
City do have Brentford in the Carabao Cup in midweek where I expect changes to be made, but I also think we’ll see one or two alterations to the side today.
Omar Marmoush, Savinho and Tijjani Reijnders are the most likely options to rotate in, whilst he could also give a chance to Abdukodir Khusanov, Rayan Ait-Nouri or Nathan Ake at the back.
I expect all of the six named above to start against Brentford, but I also think there’s the possibility one or two of them could play against Palace.
Space in behind for City to exploit
At home, Palace like to play a front foot system, knowing that Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix at the back have it in them to deal with most strikers in the league.
But Erling Haaland isn’t most strikers in the league.
The 25-year-old is entering the peak years of his career and has already scored a staggering 21 goals in 21 games in all competitions for City this season.
If Palace in their 3-4-2-1 formation play on the front foot like Manchester United did against City earlier this season – particularly with injuries in a few key areas for the Eagles – then we can expect a similar outcome, with Haaland getting plenty of space on the break to thrive.
Palace with a rare change of formation
But I think there’s a chance we’ll see Oliver Glasner tweak his system.
Since he arrived he’s played a 3-4-2-1 system that has gotten the best out of his players, but with key injuries in big positions I could see him changing it.
Munoz is out whilst Sarr and Jean-Phillipe Mateta are doubtful, and they contribute a lot to the way Palace attack.
If they all miss out I could see Palace switching to 3-5-2 to be more compact in the midfield, and rely on two forwards (likely Yeremy Pino and Eddie Nketiah) to carry the attacking burden.
Those two will still provide a threat and it will also limit the attacking space City would have as I mentioned before if they only go for a two man midfield.
Haaland going on another scoring run
But, at the end of the day, Haaland when at his best will score against any opposition.
He’ll be high on confidence after bagging his first goal at the Bernabeu and ending his penalty missing streak.
The Norwegian has got just two goals in his last five in the Premier League, and after a run of scoring in every single game he played in bar one up until that point, I’m hoping now is the time for him to start another ridiculous run like that again.
