Crystal Palace vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Bernardo Silva misses sitter
Manchester City are looking to reopen their six-point gap at the top of the Premier League table as they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace.
The pressure is back on Pep Guardiola’s men after Liverpool defeated Brighton on Saturday to move within three points of the league leaders. With the Reds playing Arsenal on Wednesday there is a chance that City could be overtaken at the top if they lose tonight. They come into the game in decent form though responding after a 3-2 loss to Tottenham with Premier League victories over Everton and Manchester United. City are unbeaten in four games across all competitions and Guardiola will want to keep that run going.
However, Crystal Palace will be tough opponents. They are unbeaten in four games and have won two of their last three league matches. Palace are also something of a bogey team for Manchester City having earned two victories in their last seven meetings - including a 2-0 triumph at the Etihad earlier this season.
Follow the action and updates as Crystal Palace host Man City in the Premier League:
Crystal Palace vs Man City
Palace looking to complete back-to-back wins over champions | City aim to move six points clear of Liverpool
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi (C), Mitchell, Kouyate, Schlupp, Gallagher, Olise, Mateta, Zaha.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Grealish.
27 min: De Bruyne’s clever shot saved by Guaita as Cancelo hits post
Half-time: Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
57 min: Mahrez strike tipped over the bar as City press for opener
Crystal Palace FC 0 - 0 Manchester City FC
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:41 , Lawrence Ostlere
81 min: Still no changes by Pep Guardiola. Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan are among those warming up.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:38 , Lawrence Ostlere
78 min: Mahrez collects the ball down the right side and finds De Bruyne, who passes across to Rodri in the middle. He crosses to the far post where Bernardo is lurking, but the Portuguese can’t reach it and it bobbles out for a goal-kick. Another promising attack goes by.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:37 , Lawrence Ostlere
75 min: This is a huge 15 minutes in the title race.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:31 , Lawrence Ostlere
71 min: Another chance goes begging! It’s Bernardo Silva once more, getting on the end of Grealish’s low cross but only tipping it wide of the far post from a couple of yards out. He really should have scored, once more.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:28 , Lawrence Ostlere
67 min: City have reasserted their dominance of the ball, probing patiently for the opener. Full credit to Palace, though, who look so well-drilled. The fresh legs will only help in covering the ground across the pitch and potentially countering with pace.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:25 , Lawrence Ostlere
64 min: Two changes from Vieira as Ayew and Edouard come on for Palace, and Olise and Mateta go off.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:22 , Lawrence Ostlere
61 min: A nice spell for Palace with some briefly sustained pressure, albeit no chances to show for it. Substitutions are imminent...
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
57 min: What a save! Guaita reacts brilliantly to tip Mahrez’s shot over the bar after De Bruyne had first hit the post with a low strike across goal. The flag eventually goes up, presumably against De Bruyne, but the replay showed it was very tight and that decision may have been overruled by VAR had De Bruyne, or Mahrez, found the net.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:15 , Lawrence Ostlere
55 min: This second period is taking on a similar pattern to the first half: City are largely on top but Palace are defending well and countering with plenty of threat on the odd occasion too.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
52 min: Grealish bundles into the back of Gallagher and he is booked – it seemed partly for the clumsiness of the challenge and partly for ending a reasonably promising move. Palace make little of the resulting free-kick delivered into the box.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
48 min: Bernardo attacks down the left and finds Grealish outside him, but the winger loses the ball with a misplaced pass and Palace countern – until Rodri’s foul kills the break on the halfway line.
Second half
21:05 , Lawrence Ostlere
We’re back under way at Selhurst Park.
HT: Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
21:00 , Lawrence Ostlere
This would have been some goal had De Bruyne steered home Cancelo’s high pass.
HT: Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:49 , Lawrence Ostlere
Half-time: City created several openings but Palace fought hard to keep the scores level. De Bruyne, Cancelo and Mahrez all went close but no breakthrough yet. A big half to come for both sides, and for the title race.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:47 , Lawrence Ostlere
45 min: Close! Mahrez picks up a headed clearance and fires towards the top corner from the edge of the box, but his shot curls just wide and against the stanchion.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:44 , Lawrence Ostlere
43 min: Kouyate is booked for chopping down De Bruyne as City try to break.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:40 , Lawrence Ostlere
38 min: Palace again catch City out as the champions try to play from the back. They work it to Zaha on the left who cuts inside and fires a shot just off target. These counter-attacks are infrequent but have looked threatening when they come.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:38 , Lawrence Ostlere
35 min: De Bruyne concedes a free-kick in the centre of the pitch after a bump into Gallagher’s back, and that’s a nice moment for Palace to take a breather after a helter-skelter few minutes of chasing their visitors.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:36 , Lawrence Ostlere
This was the moment Bernardo Silva pounced on a loose ball fumbled by Guaita, but he couldn’t convert the golden chance.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:29 , Lawrence Ostlere
27 min: Cancelo sends a perfectly weight pass to a sprinting De Bruyne who almost crowns it with a fantastic goal, flicking the airborne ball goalwards first-time with the outside of his boot, only for Guaita to react well to save. A few moments later another piece of brilliance: Cancelo fires a long shot against the post! Laporte gets to the rebound but can’t control it and fires over with the goal semi-empty.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:26 , Lawrence Ostlere
24 min: Sky Sports’ stats show just how peripheral Foden has been in this opening period, barely having any touches of the ball. That’s credit to Palace’s defence and they way they’ve kept the gaps between defence and midfield very tight.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:23 , Lawrence Ostlere
21 min: Great skill by Olise who shifts the ball from under his feet before sliding a pass into Mateta in the box, but his teammate loses his footing as he shoots tamely wide.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:18 , Lawrence Ostlere
16 min: Palace fans in good voice at the moment, enjoying the occasional foray forwards from their side. Still City dominating the ball, however, and the territory.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:16 , Lawrence Ostlere
13 min: Close! De Bruyne fires a long-range shot with his left foot and the power brings a fumble from Guaita. Bernardo reacts quickest and seems set to put City in front, six yards out, but takes a heavy touch and the opportunity runs away from him. He should have scored.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
10 min: A rare break by Palace thanks to Gallagher catching Laporte dallying on the ball. He cuts a pass across the pitch to Zaha who collects it on the left of the area and tries to cross low through the six-yard box, but gets it wrong and the ball heads harmlessly behind for a goal-kick.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
7 min: Cancelo swings in a cross from the left but it’s headed clear by Guehi, who probably isn’t losing many headers today against Foden. Mahrez then cuts in from the right on to his left foot and fires a 25-yard shot wide.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:08 , Lawrence Ostlere
5 min: A really sharp move by City down their left, with Grealish slamming a low pass into Foden who plays it first time around the corner for Bernardo charging into the box. He cuts the ball back into the centre but it’s cleared by Kouyate before Foden could reach the return.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:05 , Lawrence Ostlere
2 min: City have started brightly despite Palace’s energetic press, and have their hosts pinned back early in this contest. Grealish tries a dribble through a tight gap but he’s crowded out on the edge of the box.
Kick-off! Crystal Palace 0-0 Manchester City
20:01 , Lawrence Ostlere
Conor Gallagher gets the game under way at Selhurst Park.
A reminder of tonight’s line-ups
19:59 , Lawrence Ostlere
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi (C), Mitchell, Kouyate, Schlupp, Gallagher, Olise, Mateta, Zaha. Subs: Butland, Matthews, Ward, Tomkins, Riedewald, Ayew, Eze, Benteke, Edouard.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Grealish. Subs: Steffen, Carson, Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Jesus, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Mbete.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
19:57 , Lawrence Ostlere
Kick-off only a few minutes away at Selhurst Park. A ‘football stands together’ message adorns the side of the pitch as the lights dim and the colours of Ukraine light up the ground.
Guardiola on Palace test
19:48 , Lawrence Ostlere
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola tells Sky Sports: “It’s always a nice test, a tough test. [Patrick Vieira] was one of the best midfield players of all time. In his first season [as manager] he has got good results. He has a lot of quality up front and they are solid defensively as well.”
Monday Night Football
19:38 , Lawrence Ostlere
An in-depth discussion on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show about football club ownership in the Premier League, with both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher typically articulate on the topic. They warn of a key turning point for English football and say it could be the end of state-linked money investing in the game.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
19:29 , Lawrence Ostlere
Some pictures from a moody night in south London:
Palace unchanged
19:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
Meanwhile there are no changes by Patrick Vieira, who names the same XI which beat Wolves last week. Palace are 11th and can climb to ninth with victory here against the champions.
Joao Cancelo starts for Manchester City
19:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
So Joao Cancelo is passed fit after Pep Guardiola had said in midweek that he could be a doubt due to illness. Ruben Dias misses out so Aymeric Laporte and John Stones continue in defence, while its Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden up front.
Confirmed line-ups
19:03 , Lawrence Ostlere
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi (C), Mitchell, Kouyate, Schlupp, Gallagher, Olise, Mateta, Zaha. Subs: Butland, Matthews, Ward, Tomkins, Riedewald, Ayew, Eze, Benteke, Edouard.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne (C), Bernardo, Mahrez, Foden, Grealish. Subs: Steffen, Carson, Ake, Sterling, Gundogan, Jesus, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Mbete.
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
18:58 , Lawrence Ostlere
The full line-ups and team news are moments away...
Vieira wants Olise to stay and develop
18:49 , Lawrence Ostlere
Patrick Vieira has issued a hands-off warning to potential suitors of Crystal Palace youngster Michael Olise ahead of tonight’s visit of Manchester City.
The £8m signing has flourished in his first campaign in the Premier League, scoring four times and creating five goals in all competitions.
Olise spent time at Chelsea and Manchester City as a teenager before Reading took a chance on the attacker, and he won Championship Young Player of the Year with the Royals last season.
It helped secure a summer switch to Selhurst Park and his form in south London has earned plenty of admirers, but his manager says the 20-year-old is happy where he is.
“No, all I can tell you is Michael is a Palace player and we love him,” Vieira said when asked if Olise’s contract included a release clause.
“He is happy being with us and enjoying his football. Hopefully he will be with us for a long, long period of time.”
Olise took time to settle at his new club, with a back injury forcing him to wait until September for his debut.
An impressive cameo display at the Etihad in October was a sign of things to come from the playmaker, who has been a regular since the turn of the year.
Guardiola: I’m not motivated by treble
18:43 , Lawrence Ostlere
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola insists he is not motivated by the prospect of winning a treble.
City are chasing silverware on three fronts this term but, despite winning eight of them in his six years at the club, Guardiola says it is not the trophies that drive him on.
“It doesn’t motivate me, absolutely zero, lower than zero,” said Guardiola on Friday, whose side lead the Premier League and are through to the last eight of both the Champions League and FA Cup.
“These are fairy tales. The reality is tough. Sport at a high level is so difficult.”
Guardiola is instead focusing on winning individual games and the next of them is tonight’s league trip to Crystal Palace.
With second-placed Liverpool, who trail by six points, having a game in hand and visiting the Etihad Stadium next month, the title race is tight.
Guardiola feels there is little margin for error in any game remaining this term and will treat them all as cup finals.
“Selhurst Park is always a difficult place to go,” the Spaniard said. “It is a final for us and we know it. Hopefully we can prepare well to arrive on Monday in good shape to face the opponent.
“Always in my mind when we start to play the last 10 games of the Premier League every game is a final. When you have to play 55 games it is not a final but when you have 10 games left it is a final.”
Palace beat City 2-0 when they met in Manchester in October and Guardiola anticipates another tricky encounter.
He said: “The team we faced was really good and seeing the run Crystal Palace are having right now - just one loss in the last eight games in all competitions, the physicality they have, the organisation, the quality up front, especially with (Wilfried) Zaha and when they defend deep it’s so difficult to break down, good counter-attack - they are always difficult for us.”
Predicted line-ups
18:35 , Lawrence Ostlere
How will the two sides line up tonight? Here are two possible XIs:
Crystal Palace: Guaita; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Kouyate, Schlupp, Gallagher; Olise, Mateta, Zaha
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Grealish, Foden, Mahrez
Team news
18:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
Joao Cancelo is a doubt for Manchester City after missing their midweek draw with Sporting Lisbon due to illness. Ruben Dias remains out while Nathan Ake is also an injury doubt.
Crystal Palace are likely to be without Joel Ward and James MacArthur but Patrick Vieira could name an unchanged team from last weekend’s win over Wolves.
Crystal Palace vs Man City
14:13 , Michael Jones
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of Crystal Palace versus Manchester City. The result of tonight’s Premier League clash could have big implications at the top of the table as City look to move six-points clear of second-placed Liverpool. The Reds trail the league leaders by just three points and with a game against Arsenal coming up on Wednesday they could catch Pep Guardiola’s men if they were to lose to Palace this evening.
Manchester City head into the match in good form though after sweeping aside rivals Manchester United 4-1 in their most recent league game. Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez both scored twice for City as they bullied United around the pitch at the Etihad Stadium.
However, Crystal Palace are no pushovers. They defeated Man City 2-0 away from home earlier in the season - after goals from Conor Gallagher and Wilfried Zaha – and are unbeaten in their last four games across all competitions. Zaha scored a penalty for Palace in their previous match against Wolves, securing three points after Jean-Philippe Mateta had sent the Eagles in front in the first half.
Can Palace repeat their performance from the Etihad and shock Man City again or will Pep Guardiola’s men pick up the points they need to stay ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League table?
