New Year’s Eve of 2022 was the last time that Crystal Palace celebrated victory in any competition – beating Bournemouth 2-0 on the road – and Patrick Vieira’s men have since endured a 10-game winless run, including four defeats and five draws in their last nine Premier League matches.
Following three successive draws against Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford and Liverpool, the Eagles suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend, courtesy of a Joachim Andersen own goal just before the half-hour mark.
Cheick Doucoure’s two yellow cards within the space of five second-half minutes did not help their cause, and Palace ended the contest without registering a single shot on target for the second consecutive match.
Vieira’s goal-shy side have now suffered 10 Premier League defeats this season and although they currently sit 12th in the table, the threat of a relegation dogfight is looming as they are only five points above the bottom three, albeit with a game in hand on 18th-placed Everton.
Hopes of claiming three valuable points on Saturday may be slim for Palace, but they have frustrated opponents at Selhurst Park over the last two months, drawing each of their last four home league games, all of which against teams currently placed inside the top eight.
The Eagles played out a goalless draw in their last home meeting with Man City, but that stalemate extended their winless home run against the Citizens to seven matches since a 2-1 victory back in April 2015.
Back-to-back away victories over Bournemouth (4-1) and Bristol City (3-0) were followed by a routine 2-0 home win over Newcastle United last weekend, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva striking either side of half time to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to seven games.
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Pep Guardiola’s men were temporarily sitting just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal following their lunchtime win over the Magpies, before the Gunners came from two goals down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 a few hours later, with Reiss Nelson netting a dramatic 97th-minute winner to ensure the gap at the summit remains five points heading into the final 12 games of the season.
Man City head into Saturday’s contest with a respectable away record of seven wins, three draws and three defeats from 13 Premier League games, with only Arsenal claiming more points on the road so far this season. However, the Citizens have already dropped more points away from home this season (15) compared with the entirety of the 2021-22 campaign (11).
Guardiola’s side have failed to win three of their last six meetings with Crystal Palace, but they came out on top earlier this season at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Braut Haaland netting his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4-2 comeback triumph in August, and City will be confident of completing the double over an out-of-form Eagles outfit on Saturday.
