Following three successive Premier League wins, Man City find themselves in impressive form, and have closed the gap on league leaders Arsenal to just two points. 

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace were missing Jean-Philippe Mateta, Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz from their midweek squad against Shelbourne. Sarr and Munoz have been ruled out of this weekend's clash through injury, which is a massive blow for Oliver Glasner, considering that those three have been arguably Palace’s biggest threats in the final third this season. 

Man City have looked back to their best in recent weeks, and will be aiming to make it five wins on the spin at Selhurst Park on Sunday. The Cityzens have bagged a total of 13 goals across their last four matches, and have clicked in the final third.

However, they haven’t been so convincing defensively, and have kept just two clean sheets in their last 11 matches across all competitions. Man City conceded four goals against Fulham in their last away day in the Premier League, and were fortunate in the end to come away with three points. Despite the scoreline being 5-1 at one stage, Fulham pulled it back to 5-4, and Josh King had an effort cleared off the line by Josko Gvardiol right at the death. Prior to that match, City required a stoppage-time winner from Phil Foden to beat Leeds. 

Still, Man City took maximum points from those games, underlining how their ruthlessness in attack has made up for their issues defensively. Crystal Palace are likely to opt for defensive tactics this weekend, but keeping Man City at bay is going to be a real challenge - the Cityzens put seven goals past the Eagles across their two league meetings last season.

Adam Wharton’s average of 0.96 shots per 90 in all competitions this season is nothing to write home about, but he has been consistent with getting over this line, registering a shot in 12 of his last 13 matches when playing at least 20 minutes. The Englishman has shown a willingness to try his luck from range, and eight of his nine efforts in the Premier League have come from outside the box. Against a side like Man City, who are likely to limit the number of clear-cut chances, shooting from distance becomes a real option. 

Wharton has landed this bet against the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal already this term, while he also accounted for two of Crystal Palace’s seven shots in the FA Cup final last season. The Eagles had to soak up intense pressure for large parts of that game, so managed just 22% possession, but Wharton got forward at every available opportunity.

Wednesday night was a memorable one for Nico O’Reilly, as he bagged his first goal in the Champions League at the Bernabeu. The 20-year-old had a tough matchup against Rodrygo on the flank, and was heavily involved defensively. O’Reilly contested a total of eight duels, winning all three of his tackles, while also committing two fouls and picking up a booking. 

O’Reilly’s willingness to get stuck in has been a consistent theme this season, as the England international is averaging 1.42 fouls per 90 across all competitions, landing this selection in 15 of his 16 starts overall. His only miss came against Brentford, who have drawn the 2nd-least fouls in the Premier League this season. O’Reilly also picked up a yellow in that game for time-wasting. 

Crystal Palace have drawn an average of 11.43 fouls per 90 at home this season in the league, providing a much better match-up to back fouls.

Phil Foden had a relatively quiet game against Real Madrid in midweek, but the 25-year-old has been in stellar form recently. After finding himself on an eight-game goal drought in the Premier League, the floodgates opened in City's 3-2 win over Leeds, and he bagged himself a brace. Foden opened the scoring in the first minute, before scoring the decisive goal in stoppage time to secure his side the three points. 

He followed that up with another two goals against Fulham, before getting on the scoresheet against Sunderland last weekend. The Englishman also provided the assist for Josko Gvardiol to nod in from a corner against the Black Cats, underlining his abilities as a creator as well. 

Foden has nine goals and four assists to his name after 20 appearances this season across all competitions, which are impressive numbers. He has almost matched his goals and assists tally from the previous campaign, highlighting his good form.

Nico Gonzalez has established himself as a key player in midfield for Man City this season, filling in for the injured Rodri. Without the Spaniard, Man City have struggled with holding the ball - they managed just 48% possession at the Bernabeu, and 43% against Fulham a couple of weeks ago.

Because of that, Gonzalez has had plenty of defensive work to contend with, and his two fouls against Real Madrid made it four consecutive games in which he has committed multiple infringements.

The 23-year-old has been fortunate to escape with just four yellow cards from 22 appearances this season, given how he can be quite rash in his challenges. Gonzalez is averaging 1.58 fouls per 90 across all competitions this campaign, rising to 2.3 when playing away. Palace have drawn 20 yellow cards from their seven Premier League matches at Selhurst Park this season, with their opponents averaging 2.8 cards per game.

Dean Henderson deserved his plaudits for his performance in the FA Cup final last season, as he racked up a total of six saves, even denying Omar Marmoush from the penalty spot to keep a clean sheet. In his previous meeting against Man City, Henderson wasn’t as effective, as the Cityzens bulged the back of his net five times, but he did still manage three saves.

While the Englishman only made two saves at Selhurst Park against Man City last season, it is worth noting how much stronger Pep Guardiola’s men look in the final third this term. Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden were both absent from that match, while Matheus Nunes featured on the left wing. Man City forced six saves from Thibaut Courtois in midweek.

This season, no side has racked up more shots or shots on target than Man City in the Premier League, underlining just how effective they have been going forward.