Crystal Palace vs Man City: Champions Face Early Test at Selhurst Park

Manchester City opened their Premier League title defence with three points, but nobody at the Etihad will pretend it was smooth.

Enzo Maresca’s first league game in charge almost unravelled. City trailed Bournemouth from the 26th minute, looked blunt, and for long spells seemed short of ideas. Then the late surge came.

Marc Guéhi – back in south London this weekend in very different colours and a very different role – dragged City level in the 84th minute with a towering header. Josko Gvardiol then completed the escape act in stoppage time, turning a flat afternoon into a 2-1 comeback that owed plenty to one man off the bench.

Rayan Cherki changed everything. Introduced on 63 minutes, he injected urgency and imagination, setting up both goals and instantly giving City the spark they had lacked. Maresca will know he cannot rely on that kind of rescue job every week.

Guéhi’s new role, Haaland’s quiet landmark

Guéhi’s display was the real talking point. Used in an unfamiliar holding midfield position, the former Palace defender looked as if he had been playing there for years. He completed 56 of his 59 passes, won all three of his tackles and, crucially, scored the equaliser that tilted the game back City’s way.

There is a problem, though. City’s midfield already looks stretched.

Elliot Anderson, the £116 million summer signing expected to be a central figure in Maresca’s system, is listed as unavailable with a knee issue and will miss the trip to Selhurst Park. That piles even more responsibility on Guéhi and his new-found role between the lines.

Up front, Erling Haaland reaches for a response. His 200th club appearance passed with barely a ripple, the Norwegian struggling to impose himself. For a striker who measures seasons in goals, not games, that will sting. Selhurst Park, hostile and tight, is not usually the place strikers go to ease themselves back into rhythm.

Palace hit by injuries and uncertainty

Crystal Palace arrive with their own problems after a 2-0 home defeat to Everton that felt harsh on the balance of play but brutal on the scoreboard.

Pierre Sage’s side saw plenty of the ball – 58% possession – and twice rattled the woodwork. They created enough to take something from the game, yet paid heavily for defensive lapses that Everton punished without mercy.

There were positives. Adam Wharton impressed in midfield, showing composure and range in possession. Eddie Nketiah carried a real threat and was denied only by a superb Jordan Pickford save. Jean-Philippe Mateta struck the post and occupied defenders, even as an ongoing contract dispute continues to hang over him.

The real blow came at the back. Chadi Riad was stretchered off with a serious knee injury and is now ruled out of the City clash, stripping Palace of an important defensive option just as the champions roll into town.

Ismaïla Sarr’s absence against Everton, amid transfer talks with Galatasaray, adds another layer of uncertainty. With his future unresolved, Sage faces a reshaped attack at exactly the wrong time.

History leans City’s way – but so does Palace’s hope

The recent record is clear. Palace have lost four of their last six meetings with City in all competitions. The champions travel as favourites, even after their stuttering start.

Yet there is a crack in the armour.

City have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven straight matches and remain vulnerable when teams break quickly into space. Palace, with their pace on the counter and Selhurst Park in full voice, will see that as an invitation rather than a warning.

The champions escaped on opening day. At Selhurst, they may find out whether that was just rust – or the first sign of a season that will be far harder to control.