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3 min: Crystal Palace get the ball out wide to Daniel Munoz courtesy of Adam Wharton and Ismaila Sarr. He sends a cross towards Jean-Philippe Mateta from the right flank and the flag goes up.
2 min: Their players wearing yellow shirts, shorts and socks, Crystal Palace are struggling to get an early touch of the ball but win a free-kick for offside as City go forward again.
1 min: City advance and Kevin De Bruyne slides James McAtee in behind with a low ball down the right flank but the subsequent cross has far too much welly on it.
1 min: Ilkay Gundogan gets the ball rolling for Manchester City after both sets of players take the knee and play is underway at the Etihad.
Not long now: Referee Jarred Gillett and his team of match officials, including assistant Darren Cann, who is working at his 579th and final Premier League game today before hanging up his flag, lead out both sets of players for the first game of this Premier League weekend. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium just a few minutes away.
If anyone can, Darren Cann. Photograph: Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
Ahead of this game, the Crystal Palace manager could not lavish enough praise on Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush, who he previously worked with at Wolfsburg. “He has the skills and what I loved was he was two and a half years in Germany and he spoken German perfectly and this is quite unusual,” he said of the Egyptian.
“He is a great guy, has all the skills and in the football career you may not have to make a straight direction to come to the top but he had a loan at St Pauli, Stuttgart, then performing for Wolfsburg, then an outstanding season for Frankfurt. Immediately he shows Manchester [City] what kind of striker he is. I’m really pleased for him but not tomorrow.”
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was fulsome in his praise of Omar Marmoush, who has previously managed at Bundesliga club Wolfsburg. Photograph: Matt West/REX/Shutterstock
Manchester City fans take their seats on an extremely pleasant spring afternoon in Manchester. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson warms up ahead of kick-off. Photograph: Peter Powell/Reuters
Pep Guardiola has told his players they need to be almost perfect in their final seven Premier League games if they are to qualify for the Champions League. Will Unwin reports …
The Premier League is introducing semi-automated offside technology this weekend after non-live testing in the Premier League and live operation in the FA Cup this season, reports the competition’s website.
From the Premier League: “Semi-automated offside technology will provide more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and produce virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.
“The operation of semi-automated offside technology does not change the accuracy of the decision-making but enhances the speed, efficiency and consistency of the process.
“The Premier League has worked in collaboration with PGMOL and sports data and technology company Genius Sports to develop a new semi-automated offside technology system – and this will be its first use in a live competition.”
Some semi-automated offside, yesterday. Photograph: Fifa
- Referee: Jarred Gillett
- Assistants: Darren Cann and Ian Hussin
- Fourth official: Chris Kavanagh
- VAR: Peter Bankes
- Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett
Australian referee Jarred Gillett leads today’s team of match officials, while the match at the Etihad Stadium will mark his assistant Darren Cann’s 579th – and final – match as an official in the Premier League. Photograph: Michael Steele/Getty Images
Those teams: James McAtee makes his first ever Premier League start for City, replacing Phil Foden, who is out with an ankle injury. Rico Lewis and Nico Gonzalez come into the side too, with Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva making way.
Chris Richards return from injury to replace the suspended Marc Guehi in Palace’s only change from their win over Brighton last weekend. The 20-year-old Irish winger Franco Umeh-Chibueze is among Palace’s substitutes and will be hopeful of making his senior debut for the club.
James McAtee will make his first Premier League start for Manchester City this afternoon. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Manchester City: Ederson, Lewis, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Gundogan, De Bruyne, McAtee, Marmoush.
Substitutes: Ortega, Grealish, Doku, Bernardo, Reis, Savinho, Nunes, Khusanov, Bobb.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Lerma, Mitchell, Kamada, Wharton, Munoz, Eze, Sarr, Mateta.
Substitutes: Matthews, Ward, Matheus Franca, Clyne, Hughes, Chilwell, Devenny, Kporha.
Central defenders Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones remain sidelined for Manchester City, although Pep Guardiola does have Ruben Dias, Josko Guardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov available to select from when it comes to filling the heart of his defence. Up front, Erling Haaland remains out with the ankle injury he suffered in the FA Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth but January signing Omar Marmoush has looked a more than able deputy.
Crystal Palace have had to plan for this game without Marc Guehi and Eddie Nketiah, who are both suspended after being sent off against Brighton last weekend. Fringe players Romain Eisse and Matt Turner have been ruled out through illness and left at home to recover, while Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure remain sidelined with serious knee injuries.
In better news for Palace, Maxence Lacroix is available after being withdrawn from the Brighton match after suffering a bang on the head, while his fellow centre-back Chris Richards is also fit again after missing Palace’s last two games.
One of the signings of the season, Maxence Lacroix has been a rock in the heart of the Crystal Palace defence. Photograph: Javier García/REX/Shutterstock
Manchester City host Crystal Palace needing at least a draw to get into the top five by overtaking a Newcastle side who will have played two games fewer than them by full time on goal difference. With seven Premier League games left to play, Pep Guardiola has described each of them as a “cup final”, the first of which comes against a Palace side they came from behind twice to draw with at Selhurst Park in December.
Unbeaten in seven games following their second win of the season against bitter rivals Brighton last weekend, Palace are in 11th place and not without a chance of qualifying for Europe, not least because only Premier League leaders Liverpool have picked up more points than Oliver Glasner’s in-form side over the past 10 matches. Kick-off at the Etihad Stadium is at 12.30pm (BST) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
Crystal Palace’s players celebrate scoring against Manchester City during the December draw between the two sides at Selhburst Park. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
