Two teams in transition at Selhurst Park ...
Aug 28, 2026
EPL: Crystal Palace - Manchester City
Palace opened with a 2-0 loss at Everton ....
Still not much business done at Palace, they have signed a couple of very young players who are unlikely to be EPL ready (like their new head coach?) and swapped (I thought that was a thing of the past) Brennan Johnson for Dwight McNeil with .....Everton. I understand that they might not face off as McNeil is carrying a knock. The new Palace boss is trying to implement some changes and a much higher press than under Glasner and it has caused issues in preseason and they lost 3-0 to Freiburg last weekend ( everyone else was beating up on Bundesliga teams) and the German side might have scored five as they were through on goal multiple times, every time they beat that (too high) press. They could also have some issues with pace in the middle and Lacroix (sold) was their fastest CB. Everton have taken 10 points from the Eagles in the last two seasons, scoring 2+ goals in all four starts, are far more settled and I expect those trends to continue.
That was fine for us and the Toffees, but Palace felt very hard done by and rightly so, they won BC's 4-1 , xG 2.0-1.1 and were denied twice by the woodwork.
City needed two very late goals to come from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 last week, they deserved the win, but took an age to get going and feel very much a team in transition after losing a host of important players.....
The City legal action with the EPL over 115 breaches of financial rules still rumbles on , it has apparently cost both sides well over £100m (maybe double that) and I am not sure it will ever be resolved. City have more money than the Premier League and will appeal any sanctions and no side can "win".
I do think that it has had some effect on the players/staff, but it is impossible to know to what extent. After 6 titles in 7 years, City finished outside the top two for the first time since 2017 in 2024/25 placing 3rd with 71 points, a 20 point drop off from the previous campaign and fewest since 2016. They also scored the fewest goals since then and conceded the most in even longer! Last season they bounced back to some degree with improvement on both sides of the ball and an additional 7 points. However, it was still only good enough for 2nd and xGA suggests they should have conceded an additional 12 goals and that took them almost exactly to where their goals against column finished in the previous campaign. They feel easier to score against , or at least get chances against and the loss of Rodri, who has only started 16 games in the last two seasons has been hard felt and it appears that he is on his way to Real Madrid.
Head coach Pep Guardiola has also departed after a decade and 16 major titles at the club. It felt like time for a change, but I think those financial charges did not hang well with him either. Enzo Maresca has taken over, he has worked at City previously, in charge of the Elite Development Squad and later as assistant under Pep. He knows the club and set up, but I have some real issues with him and, given earlier the appointment as an assistant, which is how some of the squad know/remember him, he might not command the respect of his predecessor. The Italian has never stayed anywhere much more than one year ( ten appointments in ten years) and he is too negative for me and his default position is to go too defensive when games are tight. Also 21 of his 28 wins as an EPL head coach ( all with Chelsea) came against bottom half of the table opposition and it remains to be seen if he can step up in the bigger games. I am not a fan, that is obvious and I remain to be convinced, time will tell, but I get a big Emperor's New Clothes vibe from Maresca.
City signed some promising young talent this summer, but they are for the future, the (only)big addition was Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a massive £116m. I do not want to be too negative, but I am not as in love with EA as everyone else appears to be. He had two great seasons with Forest, but he was allowed to leave Newcastle before that and it is possible he is happier at a smaller club and a little more out of the limelight and he will be under the spotlight in every game from this point on. Several senior players have been allowed to leave, the biggest of which was Bernardo Silva (ever present last EPL season) after nine years with the club through which he has been a constant and provided the heartbeat of the side. This feels like a real changing of the guard at the club and Pep, Rodri and Silva leave some huge holes that need to be filled, especially in midfield and, adding in those expected goal concerns, a tough (it is all relative) season awaits, regardless of whomever else they might sign.
Palace have scored 2+ goals in 5 of the last 8 h2h meetings and can play their part in an open game.
2.25 units both teams to score and "over" 2.5 goals @ 2.14 asian line.
Good luck!
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