Manchester City will look to make it two Premier League wins from two when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Friday evening.

Both clubs are adapting to life under new managers, but their opening weekends produced contrasting results. Pierre Sage’s Palace were beaten 2-0 at Everton despite creating several good opportunities, while Enzo Maresca’s City came from behind to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bournemouth.

Palace need to turn chances into goals

Following two historic seasons under Oliver Glasner, which delivered both the FA Cup and Conference League, Sage has inherited a difficult act to follow at Selhurst Park.

The former Lens boss began his Premier League tenure with defeat at Everton, but the scoreline did not necessarily reflect Palace’s performance.

The Eagles generated 1.96 expected goals compared with Everton’s 1.12 and missed four big chances. That should offer Sage encouragement, but it also highlighted the lack of ruthlessness that ultimately cost his side any reward.

Palace will need to be far more clinical against Manchester City. They have lost six of their last 10 meetings with the Citizens, although the most memorable exception came when Palace famously beat City 1-0 in the 2025 FA Cup final.

Selhurst Park should provide a demanding first away assignment for Maresca, particularly if Palace can reproduce the attacking threat they showed at Everton.

Sage will be without Ismaila Sarr, who remains sidelined by a groin problem. Dwight McNeil and Eddie Nketiah could therefore operate behind Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Chadi Riad is also unavailable with a knee injury, leaving Jaydee Canvot, Chris Richards and Takehiro Tomiyasu as the likely defensive trio.

Manchester City looking for greater control

City ultimately collected all three points against Bournemouth, but Maresca could hardly have asked for a more dramatic introduction to Premier League management at the Etihad.

After trailing at half time, the Citizens required Marc Guehi’s 84th-minute equaliser and a stoppage-time winner from Josko Gvardiol to complete a 2-1 comeback.

The result was an important response to City’s 3-0 Community Shield defeat against Arsenal, but there are still clear signs that Maresca’s new-look team remains a work in progress.

City have yet to keep a clean sheet under their new manager, and their away form towards the end of last season was hardly convincing either, with only two victories from their final five Premier League trips.

There should nevertheless be enough attacking quality to trouble a Palace defence that conceded twice at Everton. Erling Haaland remains the obvious focal point, with Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly and former Bournemouth attacker Antoine Semenyo likely to provide the support.

Jeremy Doku remains unavailable with a calf injury, while Elliot Anderson is doubtful due to a thigh problem. Mateo Kovacic could therefore come into midfield if Anderson fails to recover in time.

Verdict: City may have to work for the points

Palace’s opening defeat should not be interpreted as a particularly poor performance. The Eagles created more than enough opportunities to get on the scoresheet at Everton, and a repeat of that attacking output could cause problems for a City side still searching for its first clean sheet under Maresca. However, Palace’s wastefulness is a concern, particularly against opponents possessing City’s individual quality.

The champions needed a late comeback against Bournemouth and another straightforward afternoon appears unlikely at Selhurst Park. Even so, with Haaland and plenty of attacking talent around him, City should possess the extra cutting edge required to edge an entertaining contest.

Tip

Manchester City to win and both teams to score.