Manchester City’s Champions League push faces Crystal Palace roadblock | OneFootball

Manchester City are at home this week in the Premier League as they host Crystal Palace at the Etihad. After a disappointing draw against Manchester United, Pep Guardiola's side will be keen to get back to winning ways on Saturday.

The result last Sunday saw City failing to capitalize on Chelsea dropping points early. After Monday's win, Newcastle United moved past the defending champions to fifth in the table. Eddie Howe's side having a game in hand means they can extend their lead over City from the one point they currently have. Incidentally, the opponent for Newcastle in their game in hand, is Crystal Palace.

The Eagles have proven to be somewhat of a menace for Manchester City in recent years. In the 10 matches between the two sides, Pep Guardiola's men have only won five of the matches against them. Oliver Glasner's side are in good form as well. They have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. In Jean-Philippe Mateta, they have one of the in-form strikers in the world. Despite being 11th in the table, they have the third-best defensive record in the league.

Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola cannot afford dropping another point if he wants his club to achieve the Champions League qualification for next season. At the moment, finishing inside the top five will be enough for a Premier League club to achieve that. However, 11 points separate Chelsea in fourth and Brentford in 12th. With teams in that run playing each other in the remaining seven rounds, no position is guaranteed regarding European football next season.

Both Crystal Palace and Manchester City might see each other once again. The pair are in the FA Cup semi-final. A win there for both teams will see them fighting for the oldest running competition in the world in the final.

A few changes could be expected in the middle against Palace. The diamond shape at Old Trafford, which saw Phil Foden partnering up with Omar Marmoush up top, did not had its desired effect. The return of three attacking midfielders behind Marmoush, who did well against Leicester, could make a return. Defensively, they looked solid even though Ederson had to do well to keep the ball away against Manchester United.

At the moment, the destiny is not in the hands of Guardiola or his club in terms of achieving the Champions League qualification. However, if they can roll back the years and go on a little winning run till the end of the season, things might fall into place for them.