A patchy Manchester City will look to strengthen their title credentials with a win at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini's side have been dogged by injuries of late, leaving them struggling for form in the league. However, they are still only three points adrift of table toppers Arsenal, and they'll surely still fancy their chances of capitalizing on the inevitable slip-ups of those in front.
Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Manchester City will be expecting to enhance their title credentials with a win over an off-form Crystal Palace on Saturday.
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As for Palace, they started the season astonishingly well, though Alan Pardew's side have hit a poor run of form. The Eagles are winless in their last four, and have failed to find the back of the net in the Premier League since they earned a last-gasp victory over Stoke City in December. They're usually one of the most impressively organized units in the division, though if they're low on confidence, City could well find them a little easier to break down.
Key player: Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)
Sergio Agüero is comfortably Manchester City's most dangerous player. The Argentine attacker has been dogged by near-constant injury troubles since making the move to the Premier League from Atlético Madrid back in 2011, but when fit, he's an astonishingly good goalscorer. He matches the close control and dribbling of a dainty winger with the brute force of a target man striker, helping him to give defenders across the country nightmares. Don't be surprised if he scores here.
When these sides last met: Manchester City 5-1 Crystal Palace, 28 Oct. 2015
Crystal Palace may well be having flashbacks to when they visited the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season. Despite fielding a fairly strong side, Pardew watched on as the Eagles were thrashed 5-1 by the hosts. Only an 89th minute goal by defender Damien Delaney prevented the match from being a complete whitewash, with the Palace boss later admitting in rather understated fashion, “we deserved to be beat.”
Manchester City injuries and suspensions
Out: Samir Nasri, Eliaquim Mangala (hamstring); Vincent Kompany (calf). In doubt: Wilfried Bony (calf); Fernandinho (knock).
Crystal Palace injuries and suspensions
Out: Yannick Bolasie (hip); Kwesi Appiah (knee). In doubt: None.
City still have a few notable absentees, with captain Kompany still chief among them. Other familiar faces, in defender Mangala and midfielder Nasri, will also be missed. Palace’s injury list is shorter in number, but arguably no less influential: their recent dry spell has surely been in no small part due to the continued unavailability of injured winger Bolasie.
Match date/time: Saturday, 10 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. local
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
TV: NBCSN (US - English); NBC Universo (US - Spanish); TSN1 (Canada)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (US - English); NBC Deportes En Vivo Extra (US - Spanish)
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