Premier League [Preview]: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace

Manchester City will look to maintain their strong start to the campaign when they host bottom side Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The Citizens produced one of their best performances under Pep Guardiola as they thrashed Marco Silva’s Watford by a 6-0 scoreline at Vicarage Road. Sergio Aguero bagged a sixth-career hat-trick with the Citizens, and he is now just two goals adrift of Eric Brook’s all-time scoring record.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace succumbed to the fifth loss on the trot against Southampton last weekend as they ran out of luck once again. Under new manager Roy Hodgson, Palace will be hoping to propel up the table, although they face an uphill battle with games against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea coming up.

Players to watch for:

Sergio Aguero – Manchester City: 

The Argentina international has already scored five goals in as many league games this season. With Palace at home, the 29-year-old will relish the prospect of getting closer to the all-time record. Pep Guardiola initially benched Aguero in order to place Gabriel Jesus alone at Bournemouth, but he has since gone with the twin partnership which has proved a huge hit.

Christian Benteke – Crystal Palace:

Not many positives could be taken from Palace’s first five league games. The Eagles have yet to find the scoresheet in the Premier League, and they will hope that their main striker shows up at the Etihad. Benteke has missed a few clear-cut chances during the opening month, and something has to go right for the Belgian if Palace are to move from the drop zone.

Prediction:

At the moment, Manchester City are arguably playing the best brand of Premier League football. Palace have not won at the Etihad since the start of the Premier League era, and they are unlikely to pose much of a threat.

Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace

Image – Getty