LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 07: Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage on December 07, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
A key top-four match takes place at Selhurst Park on Sunday as Crystal Palace takes on Manchester City.
Both teams come into this match on a high following strong European victories. Manchester City arrives in South London after a historic 2-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid, marking their second victory at the Santiago Bernabéu.
They are just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, so they could move ahead depending on Saturday’s results. Crystal Palace is enjoying its best-ever Premier League start, currently sitting fourth with 26 points. They prepared for this match with a solid Conference League win against Shelbourne.
Oliver Glasner is monitoring the fitness of crucial forward Jean-Philippe Mateta and winger Ismaïla Sarr, with hopes they will be ready to play. Defender Jaydee Canvot is also expected to recover from illness. However, they have a significant loss with wing-back Daniel Muñoz sidelined until 2026 due to a knee injury, joining several other absentees including Cheick Doucouré, Chadi Riad, and Caleb Kporha.
Pep Guardiola is likely to field the same team that beat Madrid, though he has midfield selection challenges. John Stones, Rodri, and Mateo Kovačić are unavailable, while Tijjani Reijnders is pushing for a starting spot, potentially replacing Bernardo Silva. Rayan Cherki is expected to stay in attack.
Crystal Palace is performing exceptionally well, doubling their points total from last season at this stage. Their success has come from resilience, as 17 of their last 20 Premier League wins were achieved with less than 50% possession. However, they have drawn four times at home this season, the most in the league.
Manchester City is the league’s highest-scoring team with 35 goals. They have won their last three Premier League matches, scoring at least three goals in each game. However, they have had difficulty maintaining clean sheets in this matchup, with both teams scoring at least twice in their last four encounters.
Crystal Palace predicted XI: Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guéhi; Clyne, Wharton, Kamada, Mitchell; Pino, Nketiah; Mateta
Manchester City predicted XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; González; Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Doku; Haaland
The match will be live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, starting at 1:00 pm GMT.
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