- 1 Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Marc Guehi heads back to Selhurst Park
- 2 Crystal Palace have to find their shooting boots first
- 3 Manchester City are already winning without being at full strength
- 4 Premier League prediction Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Marc Guehi heads back to Selhurst Park 
Marc Guehi wore the Crystal Palace armband for three seasons. On Friday night, he returns to Selhurst Park in Manchester City colours.
The England defender left south London last January for an initial fee of 20 million pounds. He scored his first goal for City on Sunday, and he did it from central midfield.
That goal sparked the comeback against Bournemouth. Trailing 1-0 at the Etihad after Marcus Tavernier struck in the 26th minute, City won 2-1 thanks to Guehi on 85 minutes and Joško Gvardiol in 90+2.
Palace, meanwhile, made a mess of their start. Beaten 2-0 at Goodison Park by Everton on 22 August, the London club is stuck on zero points and zero goals.
Matchday two in the Premier League gets under way on Friday 28 August at 20:00, UK time. A win would send Manchester City to the top of the table, at least for a few hours.
Enzo Maresca has made a winning start in the City dugout, but his squad is not at full strength for this first away trip. There is enough here to make it competitive, even if the balance of power is pretty obvious.
Everton had the game wrapped up before half-time at Goodison Park in front of 51,820 fans. Palace never looked like getting back into it once they went behind.
City, for their part, ended pre-season with a Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. The Bournemouth win is the first real positive of the Maresca era.
Crystal Palace have to find their shooting boots first 
Zero goals scored, two conceded, zero points: Palace’s opening weekend was over before it had really begun. Everton settled the contest in the first half at Goodison Park.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, and Thierno Barry added the second for the Toffees. Palace never gave the impression they could get back into it.
The London side are also dealing with injury problems. Defender Chadi Riad is on the treatment table and will miss this one.
In goal, Dean Henderson is carrying ankle and foot discomfort. His availability on Friday is still in doubt just 48 hours before kick-off.
The fixture list has done them no favours either: after a trip to Everton, Palace now face the reigning champions and one of the title favourites. Two away games, two heavy lifts.
Selhurst Park does still offer one thing: visiting teams often hate going there. That might be Palace’s best hope on Friday night.
It remains one of the toughest grounds in the Premier League. The crowd keeps the pressure on from start to finish, and not many sides enjoy it.
Palace also kick off the round on a Friday night, with the whole spotlight on the match. It is the perfect stage to spark a season into life, provided they finally score.
With Chadi Riad out and Henderson a doubt, the back line may have to be improvised. Not ideal when the league’s most dangerous attack comes calling.
Palace barely tested Everton and will need to raise their attacking level. Even one goal would change the feel of the night.
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Manchester City are already winning without being at full strength 
Maresca took charge this summer and started with a late smash-and-grab. Coming back from 1-0 down against Bournemouth with two goals at the end says plenty about the mentality in this squad.
The fact that both scorers were a converted defender in midfield and a full-back says even more about the depth of City’s attacking options. Goals are coming from everywhere.
Jeremy Doku will not travel. The Belgium winger worsened a calf injury in the Community Shield defeat to Arsenal and Maresca has ruled him out for two to three weeks, with a return targeted for 13 September.
Elliot Anderson, who came off as a precaution against Bournemouth after taking a knock, is expected to be available. The club’s record signing should keep his place in midfield.
No City player is suspended for this trip. Erling Haaland and Phil Foden will, unsurprisingly, lead the line at Selhurst Park.
The City transfer machine keeps ticking too: Rodri moved to Barcelona for 65.4 million pounds on 18 August 2026, while the deal for Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille was wrapped up on 23 August, in an operation that could reach 100 million euros. There is still no shortage of quality in the squad.
The Bournemouth win was built in the last 15 minutes, which suggests there is still work to do in possession. Tavernier put Bournemouth ahead in the 26th minute and City had to wait until the 85th to level it.
That habit of breaking down a stubborn block late on remains a City trademark. Against a side that still have not scored this season, it should be enough.
Joško Gvardiol’s stoppage-time winner on Sunday underlined City’s ability to score from almost anywhere. They already had five attacking options; now they have seven or eight.
Expected Crystal Palace line-up: Not released at time of publication.
Expected Manchester City line-up: Not released at time of publication.
Premier League prediction Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
Our prediction: Manchester City to win
Palace barely laid a glove on Everton and head into this one without Chadi Riad, with their first-choice goalkeeper also uncertain. Against that, City just showed they can rescue a badly timed game in 10 minutes.
Doku’s absence takes away one option out wide, but Haaland, Foden and Anderson are all available. Guehi, who scored on Sunday, knows this pitch and his old club better than anyone.
Back City to get the job done. They have too many attacking answers for a Palace side that still have not found the net this season.
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