Manchester City Preview

Manchester City travel own south tomorrow to play a Palace team full of confidence after recording their fifth win in a row and securing their Premier League status for next season. This game could have a major impact at the top of the table, with City still in the hunt for the Premier League title.

After the start to the campaign that Palace had, many fans wouldn’t have dreamed of securing top flight status with three games still in hand. It won’t be a time of relaxation for Pulis and his squad, however, as Palace can decide who wins the league and potentially who go down in their remaining games. I’m sure that I am not the only one who would love us to keep City or Liverpool looking over their shoulders and holding their breath until the final day.

A sixth win in a row for Palace would be fantastic tomorrow. It’ll be tough, yet over the past month the team has shown excellent resilience and desire to pull off some remarkable results. It will be extremely important for the defence to stay solid- a tough task considering the attacking arsenal which City possess. In a game where Palace will once again not see much of the ball, the two wingers will be vital in starting quick, meaningful and direct counter attacks. Both Bolasie and Puncheon have been in excellent form over the past few weeks, and once again they are likely to be the most important players in the Palace side as far as attacking is concerned. Pulis may think about giving some of the fringe players like Tom Ince a run-out tomorrow, as any experimentation will not affect Palace’s season. After all, we are safe!

I mentioned earlier that City have some excellent attacking (and defending) talents among their ranks. Luckily Yaya Toure, who has been the powerhouse in their central midfield this season, looks set to miss the game through injury. That doesn’t mean that the game will be any easier. The likes of Silva and Aguero are some of the best players in the world, so a lapse in concentration from the Palace defence could be extremely costly. Joe Hart was tested throughout the game at the Etihad earlier this season, and hopefully he’ll be worked just as hard tomorrow.

Safety feels wonderful for everybody involved with Palace at the moment. A top half finish could be on the cards, but that would rely on a couple more wins for the Eagles- starting tomorrow. Let’s all hope that Selhurst will once again be rocking come six o’clock tomorrow!

Up the Palace

Opposition View- Manchester City

It’s questions and answers time again everyone. This week I spoke to Steven, who writes for http://www.viewfromablue.com/ Follow him on twitter @viewfromablue.

Man City recorded another victory on Monday night against West Brom, are your title hopes still alive?

Mathematically, yes. Realistically, no. There will obviously be City fans who believe we can do it, inspired by the belief of events from two years ago, but a personal opinion is that we’re just too far behind now with too little time to recover. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liverpool do slip up somewhere unexpectedly but I doubt we’ll be in a position to capitalise.

It’s been an interesting season for both clubs. Do you feel that Palace and City have both fulfilled their pre-season aims?

Palace, thanks to Tony Pulis, undoubtedly have fulfilled – and surely surpassed – the pre-season aims. I’m sure you would have been thrilled to avoid relegation before the campaign started and you’ll do that comfortably. It’s a tougher question to answer from a City perspective. Not winning the league, having played such scintillating football at times, will be a disappointment, offset to some degree by progression in the Champions League and lifting the Capital One Cup. It’s been a mixed season, really. There have been some glorious moments and matches for us, yet quite a few frustrating defeats and draws which have stung.

Which player(s) should Palace look out for the most?

David Silva is, by a distance, our best player. It’s a privilege to watch him every week, but he’s likely to be injured against Palace, so attention will shift to the likes of Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri. If he’s given a chance, Stevan Jovetic might be one to watch. He’s provided some teasing glances at his ability when he’s featured.

Which player(s) carry the greatest threat in the Palace side?

It’s hard to single one player out in particular, because you’re an excellent team unit under Pulis but lack an individial star. I support Bolasie’s pace and trickery is something to be wary about, while Puncheon has been scoring recently and Jerome’s physicality might trouble us. That said, without wanting to come across as arrogant, if we play well we’ll win. It’s about matching your effort and desire, because we clearly have a more talented squad.

What’s your score prediction for Sunday’s game?

With your recent form, and the way we have struggled a touch over the past month or so, a point wouldn’t be the worst result at any other time of the season. However, we need the victory to maintain any faint hopes of reclaiming the title. If we play with an intensity to match our fluency, we should have enough. I’m edging towards a tight, hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Weekly Views- Spygate, Safety and West Ham

Safety: it feels good doesn’t it? Now I know that Palace are not mathematically secure at the moment, but I am sure Pulis will already be planning for another stay in the Premier League next season. Another fantastic victory against a strong Everton side capped off what has been a brilliant few weeks for Palace. 4 wins and 3 clean sheets- that’s Champions League territory!

Despite the win on Wednesday night, many people have been left with a sour taste in their mouths over this whole ‘spygate’ scandal. I’m sure most of you know what I am talking about, but if not I will quickly sum up the situation for you. Vincent Tan and Cardiff City have accused Palace of getting information about the Cardiff team in advance of the game two weeks ago. This was apparently all found out when Iain Moody sent a text to the wrong person: a certain Dougie Freedman. Now, I always keep an open eye when it comes to claims made against Palace, but this one seems extremely strange. To me, it is as if Tan just wants to get his own back on a team that beat Cardiff 3-0 away from home, but I don’t see it happening.

Attentions now turn towards tomorrow’s game at West Ham. West Ham aren’t truly safe yet, and could do with some points just to keep them going until the end of the season. Because of this, this game will be just as tough as any other, but hopefully Pulis can guide Palace to a fifth win in a row. Palace managed to record a victory over the Hammers in December, in a game which was not the most exciting or the greatest advert for English football. It will be a similar game tomorrow, with both sides focusing on their defence. It won’t matter, though, as Pulis has taught us over the past few months that you can play good football but still keep it tight at the back and win games. Possession is just another statistic.

Palace’s key players will once again be the wingers. Bolasie and Puncheon have been in fantastic form recently, and they should be aiming to keep this going into the future, starting tomorrow. Counter attacks need to be quick, and that is what these two players offer. Palace fans will also be hoping that Bolasie can fetch himself a goal soon. He has come close in the past two games- hopefully he can send the travelling fans mental with a last minute winner tomorrow!

Up the Palace