Manchester City v Palace

City of Manchester, Saturday 3.00pm

Team news

Manchester City team news

City could welcome back Matija Nastasic to the starting line-up after he was an unused substitute in the 2-1 win over Liverpool on Boxing Day.

Nastasic had missed the last eight games with a calf injury prior to the Liverpool game, but could come back in as Manuel Pellegrini looks to rotate for City's second game in 48 hours.

Sergio Aguero and Micah Richards are still absent with their respective calf and hamstring problems and Stevan Jovetic will also miss out.

Joe Hart is likely to keep his place in goal after his display against Brendan Rodgers' side.

Provisional squad: Hart, Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Nastasic, Boyata, Clichy, Kolarov, Nasri, Silva, Navas, Milner, Garcia, Fernandinho, Toure, Rodwell, Dzeko, Negredo, Guidetti.

Palace team news

Tony Pulis will have a selection dilema after Dwight Gayle's stunning strike against Aston Villa on Boxing day. Marouane Chamakh is available again after serving a one match suspension for picking up five yellow cards.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"There's a long way to go. It's a hard season - no-one knows that better than me. We haven't got an easy game at Manchester City - they are averaging about four-and-a-half or five goals a game. So we know how difficult it's going to be.

Barry Bannan

"We're looking forward to it,"

"These are the games you want to be in the league for - big games, big occasions, and we'll go there with our confidence sky high after this win and hopefully try to get something, and a bit of credit as well.

"I think you treat it as any other game. Obviously you're underdogs, nothing's expected, so you're going out there with a freedom to get something. There's a different pressure which hopefully we'll thrive on and give them a game.

"Anything can happen on any given day in this league and hopefully there'll be a shock when we go there."

"We've never doubted it," he said. "With the group of players we've got, and everyone pushing in the right direction, I'm sure we can stay up.

"We've been strong at the back, since the new gaffer's come in we've been brilliant defensively and we showed (against Villa) that we're a threat going forward.

"We must have created five or six good chances and I think against any team, with the players we've got, we can create chances."

Joleon Lescott

"We are confident but not arrogant," Lescott told the Manchester Evening News.

"We believe that we can be a match for any team if we apply ourselves in the right way and fortunately we have been doing that at home.

"I think we have the hunger and desire there now and I think the form is coming at the right time."

"Make no mistake, Palace will be a very strong test," he added.

"They're coming off the back of a great win at Aston Villa. Their form has picked up since Tony Pulis has come in. He's an experienced and organised manager so we know we're going to be in for a game."

Vincent Kompany

"Playing Liverpool on Boxing Day and then Crystal Palace again 48 hours later brings different challenges and there is a lot to take account of.

"As much as we would like to call ourselves favourites there will be fatigue and being the festive period, the games come thick and fast and there have already been one or two surprise results.

"Tony Pulis has done really well since taking over and my experience is that his teams are really organised and difficult to beat," he said.

"But this is a home game for us and we should feel really confident of whoever we face on our own ground given the record we have at the Etihad this season."

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Manchester City - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
2nd	18	12	2	4	38

Full league table

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Manchester City - current form

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
8	6	1	1	25	10

Full form table

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Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
27/08/2009	League Cup	Crystal Palace	0 - 2	Manchester City
15/01/2005	League	Manchester City	3 - 1	Crystal Palace
18/09/2004	League	Crystal Palace	1 - 2	Manchester City
16/03/2002	League	Manchester City	1 - 0	Crystal Palace
08/12/2001	League	Crystal Palace	2 - 1	Manchester City

All time results

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Last meeting

Palace 0-2 Manchester City

Thursday August 27 2009

Palace: Speroni, Hill, McCarthy, Fonte, Clyne, Ambrose (Smith, 72), Derry, Danns, Moses (Carle, 80), N'Diaye, Sears (Scannell, 72)

Subs not used: Butterfield, Lee, Lawrence, Flahavan

Manchester City: Given, Toure, Bridge, Richards, Lescott, Wright-Phillips, Barry, Ireland, Robinho (Bellamy, 72), Adebayor, Tevez (de Jong, 86)

Subs not used: Petrov, Onuoha, Zabaleta, Taylor, Weiss

Goals: Wright-Phillips 50, Tevez 71

Bookings: Richards

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