Fresh from their midweek Champions League victory in Belgrade, Manchester City return to Premier League action when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
While the Citizens find themselves sitting fourth in the top-flight standings, the Eagles are languishing in 15th place and are beginning to look over their shoulders following a poor run of form.
Academy graduates Micah Hamilton and Oscar Bobb celebrated scoring their first senior goals for the Citizens, the former of whom found the net just 19 minutes into his full debut, while Kalvin Phillips was handed a rare start and scored his first goal for the club from the penalty spot five minutes from time, either side of Red Star strikes from Hwang In-beom and Aleksandar Katai.
Pep Guardiola's men have sailed through to the last 16 and completed the group stage with a perfect six wins from six matches, breaking a Champions League record in the process following their win in Serbia, and they now shift their focus back to the Premier League before jetting off to Saudi Arabia next week for the Club World Cup.
Man City's recent wobble in the Premier League has allowed Liverpool, Arsenal and surprise package Aston Villa to climb above the reigning champions in the table, with Guardiola's side now sitting four points adrift of the former at the summit after 16 games.
0 Comments