Analysing Crystal Palace ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash | OneFootball

An in-depth look at the Crystal Palace team we’ll face this weekend…

Men's Team

How can I watch Crystal Palace v City on TV?

We travel to Selhurst Park for a 14:00 (UK) kick-off in the Premier League, facing up against Oliver Glasner’s side.

CHRISTMAS, TOGETHER

City go into the weekend just two points off leaders Arsenal after 15 games of the season, while Palace are enjoying a fine campaign themselves sitting in fourth and five points back from City.

With the help of Opta data, we take a look at what we can expect…

Recent form

Palace have won 26 points from 15 Premier League matches this season. It’s their best ever start to a campaign and double the total they had at this stage last season.

Their seven wins so far have included defeats of the likes of Aston Villa and defending champions Liverpool, with the rest coming against lower half sides in Brentford, Burnley, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves.

View full table

Their three defeats have come against Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United – the last of which was their first home defeat in 2025.

Preferred formation

Palace are set on a 3-4-3 formation under Glasner, with three centre-backs, two wing-backs, two central midfielders and attacking midfielders in support of a central striker.

Manager

51-year-old Glasner has been a top-level manager for more than a decade now, initially in his native Austria with SV Ried and LASK.

He moved to Germany in 2019 to take charge of Wolfsburg for two seasons before a move to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he won the Europa League in his first campaign.

Those credentials attracted the attention of English football, with Palace getting his signature in the summer of 2023.

A slow start gave way to a Palace side that fans adored and has since gone on to new heights, winning last year’s FA Cup and the Community Shield earlier this year too.

He’s won 27 of his 66 games in the Premier League thus far, earning him a win percentage of almost 41%.

Head-to-head record

Despite Selhurst Park being renowned as a difficult ground to visit, the Blues haven’t tasted defeat there in our last 10 visits.

We’ve won seven and drawn three in that time, stretching back to April 2015.

In the 30 total Premier League meetings, we’ve won 18 and scored a whopping 64 goals.

There have also been eight draws, meaning Palace have won just four games against us in the Premier League era.

How they score goals

17 of Crystal Palace’s last 20 Premier League wins have come when they’ve had lower than 50% possession, with 13 of those coming in 2025.

That gives a clear indication that they’re happy for the opposition to have the ball but taking their opportunities to attack when it comes.

However, they are yet to score an Opta-defined ‘fastbreak goal’ this season.

They also historically start very quickly against City, taking the lead in the opening 10 minutes in four of the last six meetings.

With 20 goals so far, they’re firmly in mid-table when it comes to goals scored but they have been very creative, accumulating 24.6 xG – the fifth best in the division.

They have also created 45 Opta-defined ‘big chances’ which is second only to City on 49, so expect plenty of goalmouth action in this one.

The Eagles are high in the charts for hitting the woodwork (six times – third in the Premier League) and headed goals (five – fourth in the Premier League).

Jean-Philippe Mateta is their obvious goal threat, scoring seven times, while wide threats Ismaila Sarr and Daniel Munoz both have three each.

Assists are much more evenly distributed, with four players having provided two each (Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix, Adam Wharton and Munoz).

How they defend

Palace’s defence is undoubtedly one of the best in the Premier League.

Only Arsenal have conceded fewer than their 12 goals, while they’re in the top four for xG conceded with 17.4.

No one has let in fewer than their four goals in the first half, while they tend to be more susceptible to a second half strike – letting in eight after the break so far.

Only City are conceded fewer than their two headed goals, while they’ve only conceded one goal from outside of the box.

City have committed the fewest fouls so far (144) but Palace are not far behind, having forced the referee into action 153 times.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson has been one of the best in the Premier League too, saving 75% of shots he’s faced – the joint-third best in the division.

City v Brentford tickets available

Tickets for City’s Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Brentford on Wednesday 17 December are now available on general sale.

Having won this competition four times under Pep Guardiola and eight times in total, we have a storied history in the League Cup.

Victories over Huddersfield and Swansea have brought us to the last eight of this year’s competition, where we’ll face Keith Andrews’ side.

With a semi-final place to play for, it’s set to be an exciting night at the Etihad Stadium.

And with prices from £22.50 for adults and £5 for Under-18s, you can get your tickets now!

Buy tickets here