Manchester City arrive at Selhurst Park with three points on the board and a few bruises already showing.
Enzo Maresca’s Premier League debut in the dugout ended in victory, but not in control. City had to drag themselves back from a goal down against Bournemouth, needing an 84th-minute equaliser from Marc Guéhi and a stoppage-time winner from Josko Gvardiol to escape with a 2-1 win. The champions found a way, as they so often do. They also showed exactly where they can be got at.
The game flipped when Rayan Cherki stepped off the bench. Introduced on 63 minutes, he injected the imagination City had lacked, threading the passes that produced both goals. Two assists, one transformed contest. Maresca may not have planned to lean so heavily on him this early, but the pattern was hard to ignore.
Guéhi’s role made the afternoon even more intriguing. Back at the heart of the narrative against his former club Crystal Palace this weekend, he operated not in central defence but as a holding midfielder. It looked like a tactical experiment on paper; on the pitch, it became one of City’s most reliable outlets. He completed 56 of 59 passes, won all three of his tackles and then rose to head home the equaliser. A defender by trade, a metronome by necessity.
Yet just as Maresca discovers one solution, another problem lands on his desk. Elliot Anderson, the £116 million centrepiece of City’s summer, is listed as unavailable with a knee issue. The plan to build a new-look midfield around him is already on hold. That leaves City juggling roles and responsibilities again in one of the most demanding areas of the pitch.
Erling Haaland, meanwhile, reaches Selhurst Park with something to prove. His 200th club appearance passed with barely a ripple. Starved of service at times, too static at others, he never quite imposed himself on Bournemouth’s back line. For a striker of his scale, those quiet afternoons never go unnoticed. Palace’s defence will know he rarely stays quiet twice.
If City look slightly unsettled, Palace arrive nursing their own frustrations.
Pierre Sage’s side lost 2-0 at home to Everton, a scoreline that felt harsher than the performance. They had 58% of the ball, dictated long stretches of play and twice rattled the woodwork. The structure was there, the intent was there. The details at the back were not.
Adam Wharton offered one of the clearest positives. Composed, progressive, and unafraid to take responsibility in midfield, he stitched Palace’s phases together and kept them on the front foot. Ahead of him, Eddie Nketiah looked sharp, constantly threatening space and forcing Jordan Pickford into an outstanding save. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck the post, another reminder of the threat he carries even as an off-field contract dispute hangs over him.
Then came the blow Palace could least afford. Chadi Riad, a key part of their defensive platform, left the pitch on a stretcher with a serious knee injury and will miss the visit of City. For a side already walking a tightrope between ambition and vulnerability, losing a central defender of his profile is a major setback.
Ismaïla Sarr’s absence against Everton only added to the uncertainty. With transfer talks ongoing with Galatasaray, Sage had to plan without one of his most direct attacking weapons. That cloud still lingers over Palace’s forward options, just as they face a team that punishes even a moment’s hesitation in transition.
History, as usual, leans towards the champions. Palace have lost four of their last six meetings with City in all competitions. The visitors arrive as favourites again, and with good reason. Yet the numbers also hint at an opening. City have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven straight matches, and their vulnerability when counters are sprung quickly has not disappeared with a new manager on the touchline.
Selhurst Park has seen this story before: an underdog feeding off the noise, a heavyweight flickering between control and chaos. If Palace can channel the aggression they showed against Everton, tidy up the mistakes at the back and test a reshuffled City midfield, this may be less of a procession than the odds suggest.
For Maresca, it is another early examination. Can his evolving City side impose their new ideas on one of the league’s most awkward away days, or will Selhurst Park sense weakness and pounce?
