- Manchester City’s last five results
- Crystal Palace’s last five results
- Oliver Glasner set to rotate Palace XI against City.
Manchester City cannot afford to slip against Crystal Palace as dropped points would hand Arsenal the Premier League title if they beat Burnley next Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola could make changes against Palace but ultimately, the Catalan tactician will set his sights on getting the all-important three points and taking the title race down to the wire.
City are five points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, with the Sky Blues’ upcoming contest at the Etihad Stadium being their game in hand.
Giorgi Kinkladze encouraged Manchester City fans to keep the faith in the side in the title fight and in theie last five games across all competitions, Pep Guardiola’s men have won four and drawn one.
Man City’s last five results in all competitions
Manchester City 3-0 Brentford (March 9)
Manchester City’s 3-0 victory against Brentford was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests. Keith Andrews’ side were compact at the back while posing a threat on the counter, especially in the first 45.
Eventually, cream rose to the crop as Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland punished Brentford, with the former scoring a stunner and the latter bagging a scrappy goal and assisting Omar Marmoush.
Pep Guardiola praised Manchester City’s “spirit” after the game as his side took control over proceedings in the second half and displayed their hunger to keep fighting to become Premier League champions.
Everton 3-3 Manchester City
If City fail to win the title, fans and pundits alike will look back on their shock 3-3 draw against Everton.
Doku opened the scoring for Manchester City with a gorgeous curler with his weaker left foot at the stroke of half-time.
In the second half, Marc Guehi’s mindless backpass gifted Thierno Barry the leveller.
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s weakness from set-pieces situations was subsequently exposed as he failed to claim the cross and allowed Jake O’Brien to head the ball into an empty net from a corner.
Haaland and Doku fired Manchester City back into the game but despite their goals and City managing to draw the game, their result against Everton was nothing short of a disaster.
Burnley 0-1 Manchester City
While the masses would have expected Pep Guardiola and Co to take Burnley to the cleaners, the visitors were anything but their free-flowing best at Turf Moor.
Despite Haaland opening Manchester City’s account in the first five minutes, the Carabao Cup winners’ decision-making in the final third as well as their finishing left a lot to be desired.
Fortunately for City, they still managed to get over the line against a spirited Burnley outfit.
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal
When Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium, it seemed like the hosts had peaked at the right time and were ready to be crowned champions.
Rayan Cherki’s impeccable solo goal against Arsenal was a moment of magic that embodied just how unstoppable City’s players can be in the business end of the season.
Despite Donnarumma gifting Kai Havertz an equaliser on the day, Haaland’s eventual winner followed by a fearless second-half showing from Manchester City summed up their desire to win the title on the day.
Chelsea 0-3 Manchester City
At Stamford Bridge, it seemed like Chelsea were ready to make a statement as on the balance of play, they looked like the more threatening out of the two sides in the first half.
However, Cherki was a thorn in Chelsea’s side in the second half as he assisted Nico O’Reilly and Guehi’s goals.
With Doku forcing Moises Caicedo into a mistake before putting the ball into the back of the net, Manchester City won 3-0 after outclassing the Blues on home soil.
Crystal Palace’s last five results in all competitions
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton
Crystal Palace showed plenty of character against Everton, coming back from a goal down twice to eventually draw the game 2-2. Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Phillippe Mateta’s predatory finishes inside the box cancelled James Tarkowski and Beto’s goals out.
On the balance of play, Palace can consider themselves unlucky not to have won the game, with Adam Wharton’s long-range strike hitting the post and Mateta’s one-on-one effort being saved.
Crystal Palace 2-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
The Eagles sealed their place into the Europa Conference final by beating Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 and winning 5-2 on aggregate. Palace opened their account through Pedrinho, as the ball ricocheted off the Brazilian’s leg after Daniel Munoz tried to put in a cross.
While Eguinaldo equalised with a wonderful strike after Chris Richards failed to mark him, Sarr’s eventual winner in the second half was deserved for Oliver Glasner’s side.
With Yeremy Pino’s goal being disallowed as he was offside and Mateta hitting the post with an outrageous acrobatic effort, it’s safe to say that Crystal Palace’s win was just on the night.
AFC Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace
Even Oliver Glasner would happily admit that AFC Bournemouth demolished his Crystal Palace side.
Palace made a comedy of errors at the back to make life as easy as possible for an in-form Bournemouth side.
Jefferson Lerma’s botched headed clearance bobbled into the net from Alex Scott’s corner. Subsequently, Dean Henderson accidentally clipped Marco Senesi after claiming the ball from a cross but in doing so, the goalkeeper conceded a spot-kick.
Manchester City target Eli Junior Kroupi bagged the penalty while Rayan added to Palace’s woes by leaving Maxence Lacroix for dead by running beyond him. The Frenchman caught ball-watching before witnessing the winger take his chance with aplomb.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Crystal Palace
Daichi Kamada was at the forefront of Crystal Palace’s 3-1 triumph over Shakhar Donetsk. The Japanese midfielder scored the winning goal with a well-taken volley before assisting Jorgen Strand Larsen’s strike as well.
While Sarr’s opening goal was cancelled out by Oleh Ocheretko’s equaliser, Kamada stepped up to the plate in what was a dominant showing from the defending FA Cup champions.
Liverpool 3-1 Crystal Palace
While Crystal Palace tested stand-in goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, Liverpool were at their clinical best.
Alexander Isak’s strike could be considered slightly fortunate as he scuffed his shot but Andy Robertson and Florian Wirtz’s pair of finishes were of the highest order. Munoz’s late goal proved to be a mere consolation goal for the visitors at Anfield.
Man City should be eyeing demolition job against Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner has admitted that he will rotate his Palace side against both Manchester City and Arsenal in preparation of the Europa Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano.
Glasner said via The Mirror: “It’s just the last game but there were 37 games played before. That means if another team on matchday 25 rotated against City or Arsenal they affected the title race as well. I’m not responsible for Arsenal, I’m not responsible for Manchester City, I’m responsible for Crystal Palace and I get paid for doing the best things for Crystal Palace and not for City and not for Arsenal.”
Considering a rotated Crystal Palace is set to rock up at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City should be planning to demolish them to put the pressure on Arsenal to win their remaining two games.
A handsome victory for City could potentially also come in handy if indeed the title is decided on goal difference.
