Manchester City will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon when they host Crystal Palace.
In a thrilling clash for the neutrals, Man City fought from two goals down to claim a point against Newcastle last weekend, drawing 3-3 at St. James' Park. Since then, Pep Guardiola's side drew 3-3 with Barcelona in a midweek friendly against Barcelona.
City have failed to beat Palace in five of their previous nine meetings, with the Eagles proving a bit of a bogey team for Guardiola. Last season, Patrick Vieira's side won four points off City, including a 2-0 win at the Etihad.
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Nathan Ake was forced off against Newcastle with an injury last weekend, and the Dutch defender is set to miss out against Palace on Saturday. Jack Grealish is also a doubt, but could return to the squad.
So, how could City fare against Crystal Palace on Saturday? We simulated the clash to find out.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 22 and updated the squads with the latest transfers. Due to FIFA 22 not having the latest kits, both sides lined up in last season's strips.
We predict that City could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden.
We predict that Palace could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucoure, Eze; Ayew, Mateta, Zaha.
City had more attacks than Palace in the first half, but Guardiola's side failed to capitalise and entered the break at 0-0. A flurry of chances just after the restart from Palace saw the visitors take the lead against the run of play, with Wilfred Zaha tapping in at the back post following Joel Ward's cross.
City fought to find a way back into the game, and they did so through a fantastic Phil Foden goal. A long ball forward from Ruben Dias was flicked on by Erling Haaland and into the path of Foden.
Despite having two men around him, the Englishman chested the ball down and volleyed a powerful shot into the far corner to make it 1-1. Haaland was taken off for Julian Alvarez with seven minutes remaining, and the substitute scored the winner for City in the 94th minute of the game.
Linking up with another sub, Ilkay Gundogan spotted the run of Alvarez and played the Argentine through on goal. With the far side of the goal blocked off, the striker drilled a precise shot past the 'keeper at the near post to confirm all three points.
FIFA 22 predicted final score: Man City 2-1 Crystal Palace
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Man City could face a difficult test on Saturday afternoon against Crystal Palace, having to come from behind to beat the Eagles in the simulation. A late winner from Julian Alvarez secured the win on FIFA 22, with City fans hoping for a less tense affair in the real game.
What do you think the final score will be? Let us know in the comments!
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