Man City v Crystal Palace: Predictions, tips and bet builder as Citizens chase Champions League carrot

Pep Guardiola’s men are heading into Saturday’s game knowing that a fifth-placed finish will be enough to secure top tier European football.

City were boosted by an unlikely ally as Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid secured an extra Champions League spot for the Premier League.

Of course, there’s still a lot of work to do. City enter the weekend in sixth place, sitting a point behind Newcastle and Chelsea.

What’s more, the Citizens are in the midst of poor league form, picking up five points from their previous four games – poor by City standards at least.

Their opponents on Saturday don’t know the meaning of poor form. Palace are absolutely flying, going seven matches unbeaten across all competitions, winning six of them and bagging a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals. 

With the Eagles in solid form and City floundering, the Etihad is unlikely to exude the same fear factor it once did. Bearing that in mind, we should be in for a tasty Saturday afternoon encounter.

Here, we take a closer look at the fixture and pick out some of the best bets along the way.

Good luck, and please gamble responsibly.

(All odds are correct at the time of article publication)

 

Man City v Crystal Palace

Double chance Crystal Palace or Draw – 6/4

Eberechi Eze to score or assist – 9/4

Both teams to score – 4/6

Dean Henderson +4 total saves – 4/9

 

Double chance Crystal Palace or Draw

Of all the teams in the Premier League, Crystal Palace boast one of the best recent records at the Etihad. 

Their last six visits to the ground produced two wins, two draws and two defeats – not bad going for little old Palace.

Their last trip to the Etihad was back in December and it proved to be a dramatic encounter as Palace fought back from 2-0 down to secure a draw. Michael Olise’s last minute penalty secured the point.

With Oliver Glasner’s men winning six of their last seven games and scoring 16 goals in the process, they will certainly fancy their chances against City.

Guardiola’s men come into this game on the back of a bore Manchester derby in which they mustered a measly xG of just 0.49.

The stats suggest we should give Palace a go, but considering City will be driven by Champions League motivations, we can’t quite back the visitors outright.

Instead, we’re dipping into the double chance market and backing Crystal Palace/Draw at a respectable price of 6/4.

 

Eberechi Eze to score or assist

Crystal Palace have done tremendously well in recent weeks, but one man in particular deserves his flowers. We’re talking, of course, about Eberechi Eze.

Since scoring for England against Latvia during the recent international break, Eze scored and assisted in a 3-0 win over Fulham, put on a solid display in a win over Southampton and also provided two assists in a 2-1 win over Brighton.

With the England man in hot form, we’re backing Eze to score or assist at around the 9/4 mark.

 

Both teams to score

City were kept at bay by Manchester United last weekend, but surely that can’t happen again.

Few would remember the last time City failed to score in successive games. Even AI is baffled when we presented that very same question.

City will be expected to get on the scoresheet in front of their home fans but we’re also backing Palace to rattle the net at some point too.

 

Dean Henderson +4 total saves

With their Champions League future on the line, Man City have no alternative but to go on the front foot.

Bearing that in mind, we expect Dean Henderson to have a busy afternoon between the Palace posts. Priced at around the 4/9 mark, the +4 total saves bet is the way to go.

 

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