Crystal Palace v Man City LIVE: Team news, line-ups and more today

Pep Guardiola is refusing to look beyond Manchester City’s visit to Crystal Palace despite Real Madrid looming as a Selhurst Park slip-up would leave their Premier League title hopes in tatters.

A win for City in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off will move them level on points with leaders Liverpool, who head to Old Trafford for a clash with arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

Guardiola accepts a draw or defeat would all but end their aim of claiming a fourth-successive title so even the prospect of a trip to the Spanish capital on Tuesday evening will not divert his attention.

City are also defending their Champions League crown and take on Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the quarter-final first leg but Guardiola will only start thinking about the clash after facing Palace.

If hat-tricks used to be Erling Haaland’s personal domain, a rival is emerging. The Norwegian may have the largest collection of match balls at Manchester City but he had a watching brief as Phil Foden scored his second treble of 2024 and his third in 19 months.

For someone who isn’t a striker, Foden is contriving to outscore virtually all of them – if not his Norwegian teammate – and his evisceration of Aston Villa took him into previously uncharted territory. He now has 21 goals for the season, reaching 20 for the first time in his career.

And this was another victory City can attribute to their main men. It is just that it is a description with a difference now. Last season, it would have been a reference to Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne, the players with 52 goals and 29 assists respectively. This year, if the individual honours stay at the Etihad Stadium, the prizes will go not to Haaland but to Rodri or Foden.

And as Haaland and De Bruyne watched on from the bench, Rodri and Foden underlined their importance by powering City to a restorative victory. The Spaniard got them underway, consigning the rarity of a first goalless game for City in 57 attempts at the Etihad Stadium to the past. Then Foden took over, his trio banishing another statistic. City had not won a league game against a top-five team this season, until they did so in emphatic fashion against a team who outshot them 22-2 in December.

Read Richard Jolly’s full report from City’s 4-1 thrashing of Aston Villa in midweek:

Manchester City will continue to be without Kyle Walker with a thigh injury and Nathan Ake will also be absent after picking up a knock in midweek, while Ederson remains a doubt for the match.

Predicted Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol, Rodri, Silva, Doku, Foden, Grealish, Haaland

Palace have a host of injury problems and are likely to be without Marc Guehi, Rob Holding, Odsonne Edouard, Michael Olise, Matheus Franca de Oliveira, Jes Rak-Sakyi and Sam Johnstone.

Predicted Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Ward, Andersen, Lerma, Munoz, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell, Eze, Mateta, Ayew

Crystal Palace vs Man City will kick off at 12.30 pm BST at Selhurst Park in south London on Saturday April 6.

The match will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1, which subscribers can stream live via the Discovery+ app and website.

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Manchester City kept up their chase at the top of the Premier League with a dominant 4-1 win over Aston Villa in a packed midweek schedule.

Phil Foden was the star for Pep Guardiola’s side netting not just a hat-trick, but his third in just 19 months, taking his goal tally for the season to 21, the first time he has passed 20 in his career.

City might have dropped points during their dull goalless draw against Arsenal on Easter Sunday, but they have not lost a match in any competition in 2024.

Crystal Palace on the other hand, have just one win in their last five, although they have a buffer of eight points between themselves and the relegation zone.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Man City kept themselves on track in the Premier League title race by beating Aston Villa in midweek but a visit to Crystal Palace on Saturday will prove a challenge (12.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event).

The England international’s performances have been key to Pep Guardiola’s men pushing for the title, and he will be called upon again to maintain their push for a fourth straight crown, although football betting sites are now favouring Liverpool to end City’s dominance.