Manchester City face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday night, with Pep Guardiola having a limited squad to work with due to a mix of injuries and illness.
City advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night after completing a 5-0 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon. Many first-team players were missing from the squad ,including Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias, and it seems the situation could be the same against Palace as 14 academy players were called up to first-team training this Friday.
Guardiola' s side beat rivals Manchester United 4-1 at the Etihad in their last Premier League outing, with Kevin de Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both grabbing two goals each. Three points is a must for City, particularly with second-placed Liverpool securing three points on Sunday against Brighton.
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Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake are still sidelined for City, leaving John Stones and Aymeric Laporte as the likely duo to start in central defence. After missing the Champions League clash midweek through illness, Cancelo is expected to return to the starting XI on Monday, in what could be a big boost for Guardiola.
So, what line-up will City select? And, what could the final score be?
We used FIFA 22 to get a score prediction for Crystal Palace vs Man City on Monday and this is what happened...
Crystal Palace vs Man City score predicted by simulation
We used kick-off mode in FIFA 22, but didn't select a team to control, letting the AI control both teams. We then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a unique score prediction.
We predict that Palace could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Gallagher, Kouyate, Schlupp; Olise, Mateta, Zaha.
We predict that Man City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, Gundogan; Mahrez, Foden, Grealish.
As expected, City controlled the opening stages at Selhurst Park, with Guardiola's side on the front foot and controlling Palace's counter-attacks. Phil Foden almost found the net when his driven shot was tipped over by the goalkeeper early on, but City did take the lead from the resulting corner.
Riyad Mahrez's corner was sent deep towards the back post, and as Rodri rose highest to meet the cross, his header fell behind him in the box. Walker was quickest to react as the ball fell to his feet, and he hit a thunderous volley from just inside the area, flying past Vicente Guiata and into the net.
Jack Grealish had a long-range effort well saved before Mahrez was denied from close range, as City went into the break with the lead and without conceding a single shot. Palace came out the stronger side in the second half, and they won themselves a penalty early on after Stones tripped Wilfred Zaha.
The winger skipped past Walker before shuffling away from Stones, but the defender's outstretched leg caught Zaha, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Zaha stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick, and it was well dispatched into the bottom corner.
Guardiola introduced Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and De Bruyne off the bench almost immediately, as he looked to regain the lead. And, the changes worked, with Sterling setting up City’s second of the game.
Sterling picked up the ball on the left and charged towards goal, speeding past Nathaniel Clyne before feeding the ball to Foden in the box. The forward turned towards goal and skipped past his marker to create a bit of space, and when Foden gained sight of goal, he drilled his shot underneath the ‘keeper and into the net.
City pushed for a third in the final 20 minutes with De Bruyne, Sterling and Rodri all coming close, but the goal never came. A late wave of attacks saw Palace desperately try to find an equaliser, but City held out for a narrow, vital victory.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Crystal Palace 1-2 Man City
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that City may find it difficult against Palace in the opening 60 minutes at Selhurst Park, with Guardiola needing a big impact from his bench to help secure the win. Goals from Walker and Foden helped secure the result, and despite the narrow victory, it's the three points that matter over the performance at this point of the season.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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