Key events
40 min: Nico Gonzalez gets booked for dragging out of Mateta’s shirt. He joins Daichi Kamada, who was booked for the foul that led to City’s opening goal, in the referee’s notebook.
38 min: From being within a toenail of going three goals up, Crystal Palace have been pegged back by two quick-fire goals from Manchester City and look completely rattled. They’re defending incredibly deeply and given the current state of play, will do well to go in level at the break.
GOAL! Man City 2-2 Crystal Palace (Marmoush 36)
City are level! Omar Marmoush smashes the ball home through a thicket of legs from eight yards out after Ilkay Gundogan had completely miskicked a Kevin De Bruyne header across the face of goal from a James McAtee cross. It’s all square!
35 min: James McAtee leaps but can’t get enough of his head on the ball to steer Omar Marmoush’s excellent cross from the left on target. This is a terrific game of football!
GOAL! Man City 1-2 Crystal Palace (De Bruyne 33)
City pull one back! With Dean Henderson slightly wrongfooted, De Bruyne curls the ball just past the Palace wall and watches in delight as it goes in off the post.
32 min: City win a free-kick a few yards outside the Palace penalty area, directly in front of goal. Kamada fouled Nico gonjzalez to give City the set-piece, from which they score …
Palace have a third goal ruled out!
28 min: Eberechi Eze curls a low shot past Ederson from about 15 yards after receiving the ball from Sarr but semi-automated offside technology rides to the home side’s rescue. It’s a shame, as Eze had no reason to be offside. City are being eviscerated down both flanks, particularly the right.
27 min: Daniel Munoz continues to torment Manchester City down the right wing and on this occasion feeds the ball to Daichi Kamada. His pull-back is perfect but Sarr shoots over from about seven yards.
26 min: I think Gundogan should have done better when that shot ricocheted off the post and dropped his way but he was under pressure from Chris Richards, who did enough to put him off.
24 min: Oof! Kevin De Bruyne rifles a shot against the left upright from distance and Gundogan is unable to steer his shot on the follow-up on target. De Bruyne waves an imaginary lassoo over his head in a bid to gee up the Etihad crowd.
23 min: That’s Crystal Palace’s 15th Premier League goal from a set-piece this season, the most of any team in the top flight.
GOAL! Man City 0-2 Crystal Palace (Richards 21)
Palace double their lead! Palace win their first corner of the game and Adam Wharton trots across to take it. His inswinging delivery is perfect and Chris Richards takes advantage of an Ederson flap under pressure from Mateta to head home from close range.
19 min: Kevin De Bruyne whips a cross into the Palace penalty area from the right but his waist high delivery is cleared by Maxence Lacroix.
17 min: Mitchell is penalised for a shove on Rico Lewis as the City full-back attempted to chase an overhit Kevin De Bruyne pass to the touchline, deep in Palace territory. It’s a completely unnecessary free-kick to concede but his team gets away with it.
17 min: It’s been a lively, entertaining opening to the game and Crystal Palace lead, having scored against the run of early play. They remain on the back foot.
15 min: Tyrick Mitchell heads clear when Nico O’Reilly sends a cross into the Palace box, trying to pick out Marmoush.
13 min: City attack on the break after a Tyrick Mitchell delivery into their area was cleared and De Bruyne plays Omar Marmoush through on goal. He takes the ball away from Chris Richards, who tugs his arm, but Marmoush keeps going. One-on-one with Dean Henderson, his low shot is blocked by the Palace goalkeeper. It’s a let-off for Palace, who should have had a penalty given against them for the blatant Richards foul on Marmoush.
11 min: That was a great move by Palace but City made life far too easy for them. Both Mateta and Ebereche Eze were in acres of space as Sarr curled the ball through the corridor of uncertainty and Eze’s task could not have been simpler. Where were the centre-backs? Where was Nico O’Reilly?
GOAL! Man City 0-1 Crystal Palace (Eze 8)
Crystal Palace lead! Palace get the ball out wide to the right touchline, where Munoz plays a pass inside to Ismaila Sarr. His curled delivery across the face of the City goal is swept home by Eberechi Eze at the far post.
8 min: Crystal Palace play out from the back under a heavy City press with a series of intricate passes that might well be putting the heart crossways in their travelling fans.
6 min: James McAtee beats the offside trap to pounce on a Kevin De Bruyne ball in behind but sidefoots weakly into the breadbasket of Dean Henderon.
5 min: Facing his own goal, Jefferson Lerma does well to clear a cross from the left without steering the ball into his own net or out for a corner.
3 min: Crystal Palace get the ball out wide to Daniel Munoz courtesy of Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr. He sends a cross towards Jean-Philippe Mateta from the right flank and the flag goes up.
2 min: Their players wearing yellow shirts, shorts and socks, Crystal Palace are struggling to get an early touch of the ball but win a free-kick for offside as City go forward again.
1 min: City advance and Kevin De Bruyne slides James McAtee in behind with a low ball down the right flank but the subsequent cross has far too much welly on it.
Man City v Crystal Palace is go …
1 min: Ilkay Gundogan gets the ball rolling for Manchester City after both sets of players take the knee and play is underway at the Etihad.
Not long now: Referee Jarred Gillett and his team of match officials, including assistant Darren Cann, who is working at his 579th and final Premier League game today before hanging up his flag, lead out both sets of players for the first game of this Premier League weekend. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium just a few minutes away.
Oliver Glasner: “He has all the skills”
Ahead of this game, the Crystal Palace manager could not lavish enough praise on Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush, who he previously worked with at Wolfsburg. “He has the skills and what I loved was he was two and a half years in Germany and he spoken German perfectly and this is quite unusual,” he said of the Egyptian.
“He is a great guy, has all the skills and in the football career you may not have to make a straight direction to come to the top but he had a loan at St Pauli, Stuttgart, then performing for Wolfsburg, then an outstanding season for Frankfurt. Immediately he shows Manchester [City] what kind of striker he is. I’m really pleased for him but not tomorrow.”
Pep Guardiola: “It’s a final every single game”
Pep Guardiola has told his players they need to be almost perfect in their final seven Premier League games if they are to qualify for the Champions League. Will Unwin reports …
Semi-automated offside technology
The Premier League is introducing semi-automated offside technology this weekend after non-live testing in the Premier League and live operation in the FA Cup this season, reports the competition’s website.
From the Premier League: “Semi-automated offside technology will provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and produce virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.
“The operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the accuracy of the decision-making but enhances the speed, efficiency and consistency of the process.
“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and sports data and technology company Genius Sports to develop a new semi-automated offside technology system – and this will be its first use in a live competition.”
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Jarred Gillett
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Assistants: Darren Cann and Ian Hussin
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Fourth official: Chris Kavanagh
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VAR: Peter Bankes
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Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett
Those teams: James McAtee makes his first ever Premier League start for City, replacing Phil Foden, who is out with an ankle injury. Rico Lewis and Nico Gonzalez come into the side too, with Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva making way.
Chris Richards return from injury to replace the suspended Marc Guehi in Palace’s only change from their win over Brighton last weekend. The 20-year-old Irish winger Franco Umeh-Chibueze is among Palace’s substitutes and will be hopeful of making his senior debut for the club.
Manchester City v Crystal Palace line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, McAtee, Marmoush.
Substitutes: Ortega, Grealish, Doku, Bernardo, Reis, Savinho, Nunes, Khusanov, Bobb.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Lerma, Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Munoz, Eze, Sarr, Mateta.
Substitutes: Matthews, Ward, Matheus Franca, Clyne, Hughes, Chilwell, Devenny, Kporha.
Early Team news
Central defenders Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones remain sidelined for Manchester City, although Pep Guardiola does have Ruben Dias, Josko Guardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov available to select from when it comes to filling the heart of his defence. Up front, Erling Haaland remains out with the ankle injury he suffered in the FA Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth but January signing Omar Marmoush has looked a more than able deputy.
Crystal Palace have had to plan for this game without Marc Guehi and Eddie Nketiah, who are both suspended after being sent off against Brighton last weekend. Fringe players Romain Eisse and Matt Turner have been ruled out through illness and left at home to recover, while Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure remain sidelined with serious knee injuries.
In better news for Palace, Maxence Lacroix is available after being withdrawn from the Brighton match after suffering a bang on the head, while his fellow centre-back Chris Richards is also fit again after missing Palace’s last two games.
Premier League: Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Manchester City host Crystal Palace needing at least a draw to get into the top five by overtaking a Newcastle side who will have played two games fewer than them by full time on goal difference. With seven Premier League games left to play, Pep Guardiola has described each of them as a “cup final”, the first of which comes against a Palace side they came from behind twice to draw with at Selhurst Park in December.
Unbeaten in seven games following their second win of the season against bitter rivals Brighton last weekend, Palace are in 11th place and not without a chance of qualifying for Europe, not least because only Premier League leaders Liverpool have picked up more points than Oliver Glasner’s in-form side over the past 10 matches. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is at 12.30pm (BST) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
Source From: Premier League | The Guardian
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