Manchester City vs Crystal Palace prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-12-15 15:00.
[p]A much-changed Manchester City side grabbed a 3-2 Champions League win away at Red Star Belgrade in midweek, helping Pep Guardiola’s men secure two successive competitive wins for the first time in over a month. Yet, their patchy form across their past seven outings (W3, D3, L1), combined with the fact their three wins in that streak were all by a single goal, highlights how last season’s treble winners are still way short of their best. [/p]
[p]Expected to be back to a full-strength XI – albeit with questions remaining around Erling Haaland’s fitness – the Cityzens return to the Etihad looking to extend their proud record of no defeat in 18 PL home games (W15, D3). However, their two most recent league matches against Liverpool and then Tottenham ended in draws meaning they’re at risk of failing to win three successive league home games for the first time since 2016 here. [/p]
[p]Crystal Palace looked on course for an unlikely win last week against City’s title rivals Liverpool and led 1-0 going into the final 15 minutes, but a triple blow of a questionable red card, a deflected equaliser and a goalkeeper injury saw them eventually fall to a 2-1 defeat. That rotten sequence of luck extended their record to no PL win in five, while no team has picked up fewer points across the last five gameweeks (one). [/p]
[p]In search of positives, experienced manager Roy Hodgson could point to Palace’s knack of being a thorn in the side of their hosts, as only Manchester United (three) have won more PL games at the Etihad than Palace (two) since Guardiola arrived at City. Their last success here (2-0, October 2021) saw the London side net inside seven minutes, but with a league-low three first-half league goals, few will expect a similar start from the visitors this time.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Bernardo Silva launched a memorable comeback in this fixture last season, scoring the first of four second-half goals to seal a 4-2 victory. Opponent Odsonne Édouard has netted 40% (six) of Crystal Palace’s league goals this season, the highest share of any player for their team coming into the round. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: City’s last ten PL goals against Palace arrived after half-time. [/p]