Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
It’s not exactly ‘now or never’ but Manchester City can’t afford to leave it much longer.
Pep Guardiola’s team heads to Selhurst Park for a crunch Premier League clash on Saturday. It’s a must-win game for the Champions, who have drifted eight points off the pace, following a stop-start campaign.
For the first time in two years the Premier League 2019 betting odds are looking elsewhere than the Etihad for the league winner, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool now odds on to win a first title in three decades.
The Sky Blues travel to Anfield on 10th November but can reduce the gap this weekend with a win on Saturday. They must then hope their neighbours do them a huge favour on Sunday as Manchester United hosts the leaders. Old Trafford will be bouncing with 70,000 fans hoping for their gloom to be lifted with a win over their old and fiercest rivals.
But before that, City have to overcome an in-form Crystal Palace.
Talking Points
Sky Blues are no flat-track bullies
There’s no doubt that Pep Guardiola has put together one of, if not the finest squad of players in the world. Breaking record after record and beating the best sides in England has become habit at the Etihad.
So why do they start this game eight points behind Liverpool after just eight games?
Well, they dropped their first two points, rather, unfortunately, against Spurs, after dominating the game from start to finish. Subsequently, the Sky Blues have slumped to shock losses to Norwich City and Wolves.
Defeat to Wolves is still painful in the memory, and we were as surprised as anyone here at SBOBET. It was the last thing the Sky Blues needed, coming just before the international break, and Guardiola will be determined to put things right (again) at Selhurst Park.
Wolves head coach Nuno said his players ran like crazy, but there was more to it than that. They were well organised against players who like to play through the middle; and City became frustrated, just as they did in defeats to Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United last season.
Pep’s team seems to struggle more against teams outside the top six than within it.
But there’s no denying the quality in his squad which improves year on year. New signing Rodri helped Spain to Euro 2020 qualification on Tuesday, and once he gets used to the pace of life in England he’s sure to thrive. And the City boss says young midfielder Phil Foden is becoming indispensable and he wouldn’t even sell him for 500m Euros.
And Sky Blues fans will be delighted to hear that top scorer Sergio Aguero is unhurt following a car collision. He already has eight league goals, two more than the red hot Raheem Sterling.
The Eagles are flying
Ten points from the last five games have lifted Palace up to sixth place, level with Chelsea and Leicester City and ahead of Spurs.
The Eagles earned an impressive 1-2 win at West Ham just before the international break. Jordan Ayew scored his third goal of the season, with the aid of VAR and that lifted palace up into the top six.
Palace’s star player was making the Premier League 2019 news for the wrong reasons during the summer. Wilfried Zaha admitted his ‘head was all over the place’ after he failed to secure a move away from Selhurst Park in the summer; and while that’s not great to hear for Palace fans, if anyone can get the mercurial winger’s feet on the ground it’s wily old boss Roy Hodgson.
And the head coach made a clever buy in the summer. Gary Cahill has slotted in seamlessly at the back and the experienced England man has taken the captain’s armband.
History
The Sky Blues have won 16 of the previous meetings to Palace’s five and there have been four draws.
Palace almost derailed Manchester City’s title charge last season with their stunning 2-3 win at the Etihad. Andros Townsend scored a candidate for goal of the season as the home crowd fell silent.
The Eagles have twice as many points (14) as they had after eight games last season and are unbeaten at home, with two wins and two draws.
Betting Tip
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Crystal Palace vs Manchester City | Manchester City First Half -0.75 @ 1.94 |
| October 20, 00:30 (GMT+8) |
This is by no means a foregone conclusion but the Eagles are at a huge 10.00 to win, with City at odds of 1.26 and the draw at 5.80.
The international break will have done the Sky Blues some good, and I expect them to be somewhere near their ruthless best with the stakes so high.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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