Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace 8/27/22 EPL Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Manchester City and Crystal Palace face off on Saturday in an English Premier League showdown at City of Manchester Stadium. When these two teams faced off on May 14th, the two teams played to a 0-0 draw. 

Crystal Palace has played decently to start the season, and they currently sit in 9th place in the standings having picked up four points. Crystal Palace opened up the season with a 2-0 loss, which doesn’t look that bad now after the way Arsenal has played. In the last two games, Crystal Palace played to a 1-1 draw against Liverpool and in the last game against Aston Villa they won 3-1. Wilfried Zaha scored a goal in the 7th minute and added another in the 58th minute to pace Crystal Palace to the victory. They also played a midweek EFL Cup game against Oxford United, and that was a 2-0 victory. Crystal Palace isn’t expected to make any changes in the lineup, and this will be the same team that started Aston Villa. 

On the other side of this matchup is Manchester City, who sits in 2nd place in the standings having picked up seven points. Manchester City were dominant in the first two games of the season against West Ham and AFC Bournemouth. In the last game against Newcastle, they opened up the scoring in the 5th minute, but then the defense started to break down, and they fell behind 3-1. City did score two goals after the 61st minute and that was enough to secure a draw, but they have to be disappointed with the way the defense played. Manchester City outshot Newcastle 10-6. Manchester City played a midweek game against Barcelona and that was a 3-3 draw. Jack Grealish is dealing with a ligament injury, and it’s doubtful he’s going to play, although there is a chance he could. 

The big question for Manchester City is how the defense will play. Man City’s offense has been strong all season, but the defense has shown some holes. In this game, I expect Manchester City’s defense to find more success against Crystal Palace, but their offense will continue to run up the score. Look for Manchester City to score at least three goals, and they will cash the -1.5.