Crystal Palace VS Manchester City

Crystal Palace will welcome Manchester City to Selhurst Park on Friday for their first Premier League home match of the new season, with both clubs adapting to new managers. Palace began the campaign with a 2-0 defeat away to Everton under Pierre Sage, despite creating the better chances according to expected-goals figures. The Eagles produced 1.96 expected goals compared with Everton’s 1.12 and missed four major opportunities, suggesting that poor finishing rather than a lack of attacking threat was largely responsible for the disappointing result. Palace will need to be much more clinical against City, especially given their recent record against the Manchester club, having suffered six defeats in their last 10 meetings and recorded only one victory during that period. Manchester City also entered a new chapter following the end of the Pep Guardiola era, with Enzo Maresca taking charge. Their opening league fixture produced a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bournemouth after City initially fell behind. Marc Guehi equalised in the 84th minute before Josko Gvardiol completed the comeback with a stoppage-time winner. Although the result provided an important boost, City still have areas to improve, particularly defensively, as they have yet to keep a clean sheet under Maresca. Their away form also raises questions after winning only two of their final five league matches on the road last season, while the ongoing changes within the squad could make the trip to Selhurst Park another demanding test.