palace vs man city: lineups, injuries and kick-off
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City heads into Friday Night Football at Selhurst Park with selection questions on both sides. Palace are trying to recover from…
SELHURST PARK — palace vs man city arrives with both teams carrying selection questions into Friday Night Football, as Crystal Palace host Manchester City in the Premier League at Selhurst Park. Palace are looking for their first points after losing to Everton, while City come in after a dramatic 2-1 win over Bournemouth.
The lineups will matter. A lot. Palace have been hit by a serious knee injury to defender Chadi Riad, while Ismaïla Sarr is unavailable with a groin problem. City also have issues, with Jérémy Doku out after failing to recover from a calf injury and Matheus Nunes unlikely to feature after missing the final team training session.
palace vs man city: team news before kick-off
Manchester City’s shape could shift again after a busy week of speculation around the starting XI. Rayan Cherki is in line for his first start after coming off the bench to provide two assists last weekend, while teenage signing Ayyoub Bouaddi is fit and could make his Premier League debut from the bench.
The projected City lineup has Donnarumma; Lewis, Dias, Guéhi, Gvardiol; Anderson, O’Reilly; Foden, Cherki, Semenyo; Haaland. Yet the final call is still the manager’s. The official lineups are expected to stay under wraps until one hour before kick-off, with the match set for 8:00 PM BST.
Palace, meanwhile, are expected to reshuffle in defense after Riad’s injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu is tipped to step in for him in the back three alongside Chris Richards, with the rest of the setup still being watched closely ahead of kickoff.
Why this game matters for both sides
For Palace, the pressure is immediate. Pierre Sage has already admitted his frustration after the defeat to Everton, saying, “I’m not here in an attraction park, you can say that. I’m here to win games, the job is like this and I’m not happy to lose this game,” in comments to Sky Sports ahead of the match.
He also pointed to consistency as the missing piece. “That’s why we need to be more consistent. We need to work a lot, we need to understand together better. We need to be fluent, to be smooth in our play and the only thing to do is to work,” Sage said.
City’s own set-up adds another layer. The cameras caught signs that Marc Guéhi could line up in central defence rather than midfield, with Gvardiol at left-back and O’Reilly in midfield, though the final arrangement will only be confirmed at kick-off. That uncertainty is part of the draw on a night when both clubs are still sorting out early-season details.
There is also a striking stat hanging over the game. Mateta and Sarr, both absent for Palace, scored 21 Premier League goals between them last season, while Palace’s starting XI against City had scored 10 between them last season. It is a gap that says plenty about the challenge in front of the home side.
Selhurst Park has its own edge too. Erling Haaland has never failed to score there, and City remain dangerous even without Pep, as the pre-match buildup put it. One number still jumps out: Friday Night Football starts at 7pm live on Sky Sports, with kick-off at 8pm.
