Blow for Pellegrini as Silva ruled out through injury
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
Date: 15.00pm, Saturday 12th September 2015
Venue: Selhurst Park, South London
Referee: Mike Jones Assistants: R West, A Nunn Fourth Official: R East
Odds: Crystal Palace 5/1, Draw 33/10, Manchester City 4/6
Tickets: Sold out
TV: Match of the Day (highlights)
Crystal Palace
Manager: Alan Pardew
Squad (from): Hennessey, McCarthy, Speroni, Dann, Delaney, Hangeland, Kelly, Mariappa, Souare, Bolasie, Cabaye, Guedioura, Jedinak, Ledley, Lee, McArthur, Mutch, Puncheon, Sako, Zaha, Bamford, Gayle, Wickham.
Injured: Ward, Campbell, Appiah, Chamakh
Doubtful: Wickham, Cabaye, Ledley, Jedinak, Speroni
Suspended: None
Form guide: WWLW
Manchester City
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini
Squad (from): Caballero, Hart, Wright, Demichelis, Kolarov, Kompany, Mangala, Otamendi, Sagna, De Bruyne, Fernando, Fernandinho, Nasri, Navas, Roberts, Silva, Toure, Zuculini, Aguero, Bony, Iheanacho, Sterling.
Injured: Zabaleta, Clichy, Delph
Doubtful: Silva, Fernando
Suspended: None
Form guide: WWWW
David Silva is unlikely to feature after suffering an ankle knock whilst on international duty with Spain, but City will be hoping the influential playmaker will be available for the midweek Champions League game against Juventus. Fabian Delph is out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury, whilst Pablo Zabaleta and Gael Clichy miss out once more.
On a more positive note, Bacary Sagna is available for selection despite being substituted for France in their midweek clash with Serbia, and Nicolas Otamendi has finally been granted a work permit. City's other new signing Kevin De Bruyne could make his debut in Silva's absence.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini was full of praise for the Belgian midfielder, who joined for the Blues in a £54m deal from Wolfsburg during the transfer window.
"Kevin is an important player, like Raheem, he has characteristics we need," Manuel told journalists.
"His position is easy to settle in our team. He will be a very important player for us. He’s in the squad list, we’ll see tomorrow whether he starts.
"He’s a young player and he’s improved a lot since he was last in the Premier League. I always say that when good players arrive into a good team with good players, I think that they will continue to improve and that’s why he’s here."
City's last away game at Selhurst Park ended in a 2-1 defeat, with Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray scoring for the home side before a late consolation from Yaya Toure. Overall City have won 24 of the 51 games played against Palace, with 12 draws and 15 defeats.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1 City 2