Manchester City v Crystal Palace tips: Premier League best bets and preview
Manchester City are looking to extend their eight game unbeaten run when they host Crystal Palace on Saturday. Joe Rindl has two best bets.
Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Man City to win both halves at 5/4 (William Hill)
1pt Phil Foden to score anytime at 13/10 (General)
Manchester City’s long reign over the EFL Cup is finally over after Pep Guardiola’s side lost on penalties at West Ham in the last 16 on Wednesday.
The markets though are suggesting City’s first loss in the League Cup for just over five years is merely a blip, and they’re heavy favourites against a Crystal Palace side who have been on the wrong end of some ugly score lines in this fixture.
Palace lost their two matches to City 6-0 on aggregate last campaign, including a 4-0 thrashing at the Etihad. Their famous 3-2 win over the champions thanks to an Andros Townsend thunderbolt back in 2018 is their only victory in their past 14 outings against the Citizens.
I’m expecting that run to stretch to one in 15 on Saturday afternoon.
Kick-off time: 15:00 BST, Saturday
Man City 1/7 | Draw 7/1 | Crystal Palace 18/1
Since their opening day defeat to Tottenham, City have been their sensational selves in the league this season.
Three times they’ve netted four or more (5-0 v Norwich and Arsenal and 4-1 v Brighton) while they’ve also been on the right end of scrappy 1-0 wins over Chelsea and Leicester.
Only Southampton and Liverpool can claim to have taken points off the champions since the Spurs loss, with the Saints playing out a frustrating 0-0 draw - in which City’s Kyle Walker was sent off after 60 minutes - and Liverpool matching the Manchester outfit in a thrilling 2-2 tie at Anfield.
Infogol’s Expected Goals model tells us that City are good value for their wins too. They’ve won the xG battle in all of their outings but the Liverpool game.
They’ve racked up an Expected Goals For of 21.75 compared to their actual total of 20, and have conceded four from an xGA of 6.72.
Essentially, City are just as ruthless as ever with the underlying data backing up their form.
This should make Palace fans very nervous.
Crystal Palace sit 15th in the Premier League table, five points off the bottom three despite only winning once this campaign.
Patrick Vieira’s team are turning into draw specialists. Last time out concluded with their fourth draw in a row, a 1-1 result with Newcastle.
The Eagles' failure to convert one point into three has frustrated supporters in recent weeks. What’s more, five of those six draws have seen both teams score.
Palace don’t have a problem finding the net, but they’re flakey at the back. They’ve conceded 10 goals in four away games, a damning statistic ahead of a trip to the Champions.
Unsurprisingly then, there’s little value to be found in the outrights.
Instead, I’d recommend punters take a look at MAN CITY TO WIN BOTH HALVES at 5/4 with William Hill.
That’s a bet that has won in three of City’s last four games in all competitions.
And the Eagles are seriously slow starters. Their earliest goal has landed in first-half stoppage time this term. I’m very confident City will be ahead at the break, while they’ve also found the net in the second half in 78 percent of their games this season.
Back Foden to score
As for the goalscorers, PHIL FODEN at a general price of 13/10 to SCORE ANYTIME is very appealing.
The England forward missed his penalty in the shootout with West Ham, but I’m backing the man who has an xG of 0.45 per 95 minutes this season to find the net against a poor Palace defence at the Etihad.
He’s likely to start after dropping to the bench in the week and is in fine form having netted two against Brighton last weekend.
Man City v Crystal Palace best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Man City to win both halves at 5/4 (William Hill)
- 1pt Phil Foden to score anytime at 13/10 (General)
Score prediction: Man City 3-0 Crystal Palace (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Odds correct at 1600 BST (28/10/21)
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