Manchester City welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium on a night when the hosts have turned their home ground into a dependable source of points and fast starts. City are unbeaten in their last 16 home Premier League games, and they have opened the scoring in all 16 of them.
That sequence gives Pep Guardiola's side a sharp edge before a match that has often produced goals. City are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against Palace, and they last lost at home to the London side 2-0 in October 2021. Palace, though, have made the trip south-to-north with a decent away record this season, having won seven Premier League away games and drawn two.
The numbers also point to a contest that can swing quickly in the first half. City have scored 38 first-half goals in the Premier League this season and conceded nine, while they are unbeaten in their last 23 evening kick-offs in the competition. Palace have scored exactly twice in each of their last four Premier League away games against City, even though they have won only one of those four visits.
City’s attack still carries the most obvious threat. Erling Haaland has scored in all five of his Premier League appearances against Palace and has eight goals in those five matches. Jérémy Doku has also arrived in strong form, with seven goal involvements in his last six appearances in all competitions, including five goals and two assists.
Palace will lean on Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaïla Sarr to make the game uncomfortable. Mateta has 49 Premier League goals, with 17 of them scored away from home, and two of his 11 league goals this season have come on the road. That leaves him close to a milestone few Palace forwards have reached; Glenn Murray is the only player to have scored more for the club in a Premier League season, with 31 in 2012-13. Sarr, meanwhile, has scored nine goals in his last 10 starts in all competitions and has 20 in total this season.
Guardiola was blunt about the challenge earlier in the build-up, saying the pressure on City remains the same. There is a reason that line lands with some force. City have been unbeaten in their last 16 home league games since losing their opening home league game of the season to Tottenham Hotspur, but five of their eight evening Premier League games have ended level, including their last such fixture, a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa in December 2023.
Palace have a way of complicating this fixture and City have not always blown them away. Still, the home side have scored first in every league game at the Etihad this season, and that is usually where control begins. If City strike early again, Palace will need another of their away-day efforts to disrupt a team that has made early leads look routine.
