Crystal Palace vs Man City Picks and Predictions: Grealish Wreaks Havoc on Palace Flank

Saturday’s final Premier League game sees Crystal Palace welcome Man City to Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace enters the weekend 12th in the table but they’re only five points clear of the relegation spots and can’t afford to take their foot off the gas.

While Crystal Palace are looking down, Manchester City are looking up. The champions are five points behind Arsenal and simply can’t drop points here as they look to narrow that lead. Don’t miss our Crystal Palace vs. Man City picks and predictions.

Crystal Palace vs Man City best odds

Crystal Palace vs Man City picks and predictions

In all likelihood, there are too many bad teams between Crystal Palace and relegation but they cannot be complacent.

That need to take points off one of the world’s best teams is what brings me to my best bet, backing Crystal Palace’s right-back Nathaniel Clyne to commit Over 0.5 fouls.

At 31 years old, Clyne is reaching the final stages of his Premier League career but he’s consistently been a solid, if not excellent fullback, earning a move to Liverpool earlier in his career. He’s not quite the player that he was though and arguably has lost a little bit of the electric pace that helped him earlier in his career.

On the right side of the Crystal Palace defense, he’s going to be up against Jack Grealish. Grealish is having a brilliant season and after coming from the bench often last season, he’s now starting nearly every game with the England international starting 10 of his last 11 games. 

Grealish has drawn more fouls per game than all but one player (Wilfried Zaha) in the Premier League this season, with his quick feet and direct style causing defenders huge problems.

Coming up against Grealish is a huge challenge for Clyne and I’m very confident the fullback will foul him at least once. In City’s past three Premier League games, the right-backs opposite Grealish have committed a combined five fouls.

So far in the league this season, we’ve only seen Clyne foul, on average, once every other game but against a team of the ability of Man City, and with the dangerous Grealish, I’m very confident we see him commit at least one.

My best bet: Nathaniel Clyne Over 0.5 fouls (-132 at BetRivers)

Crystal Palace vs Man City side analysis

With Man City being big -275 favorites and Crystal Palace coming into this without a win in 2023 there isn’t a huge amount of value on the moneyline, and I’d personally leave it and focus on other markets.

Crystal Palace will play in a 4-2-3-1 with their central defensive duo Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen flanked by Clyne and Tyrick Mitchell. Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi-Lokonga will be in midfield and hoping to do his parent side a favor. 

With Cheick Doucoure missing the game through suspension he’ll be joined in the middle by Will Hughes. Hughes is a good player but anchoring that midfield against the might of Man City could be a tough ask.

Going forward, there’s a lot to enjoy about Crystal Palace. The young duo of Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze are a joy to watch, although, with six league goals between them, they are underdelivering on goals. Jordan Ayew joins them in the three that’ll be between Zaha. 

Man City’s team lineup is always hard to predict, especially with Champions League action on the horizon next week, plus allegations around Kyle Walker’s conduct that could see him relegated to the bench here.

The only players we can really be certain will play are Ederson in goal, Ruben Dias at the back, Rodri in the middle of the park, and Erling Haaland up front, with Grealish almost certain to be to his left. Besides that, we could be subjected to Pep roulette and see some unusual names in the mix.

Crystal Palace vs Man City Over/Under analysis

Looking at the odds, it seems like books are leaning toward there being Over 2.5 goals in this game. I don’t have a strong lean but at the odds available I’d consider following the trends, which seem to suggest backing Under 2.5.

We’ve seen Under 2.5 land in 60% of Crystal Palace’s games this season, which sits at 53.8% when they’re playing at Selhurst Park. There have been Under 2.5 goals in all four of the team's past four games at home.

With Haaland in the team, you know that Man City are involved in a lot of high-scoring games, with 65.4% of their Premier League games this season seeing Over 2.5 goals, but it’s worth considering the home and away split. At the Etihad, they’ve had Over 2.5 goals in all but two matches, whereas on the road they’ve had Under 2.5 in the majority of their games, at 53.8%.

Crystal Palace vs Man City game info

Crystal Palace vs Man City key injuries

Crystal Palace: Sam Johnstone GK (Out), Cheik Oumar Doucoure CM (Out).
Man City: Phil Foden FW (Questionable).

Crystal Palace vs Man City recent form

Teams	Last five matches
Crystal Palace	L-D-D-D-L
Man City	W-W-D-W-W

Crystal Palace vs Man City weather

It’ll be a dry, cloudy day in the capital with temperatures dropping to 40 degrees around kickoff.

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