Crystal Palace vs Manchester City: Team News and Lineups

Selhurst Park under the lights. Crystal Palace trying to rattle one of the title favourites. Manchester City beginning a new era and already chasing perfection.

The two sides arrive here on very different early-season paths. Palace slipped to defeat at Everton on the opening weekend. City, under new boss Enzo Maresca, needed two late goals to finally shake off a stubborn Bournemouth as the Sky Blues set off in pursuit of the Premier League crown they lost last season.

History offers Palace little comfort. They have not beaten City at Selhurst Park in the league since 2015. The one recent high point against the Manchester giants came not in south London but at Wembley, when Palace stunned them to lift the FA Cup and claim the club’s first major trophy. That memory lingers. So does the knowledge that City usually leave SE25 with the points.

Tonight, both managers are forced into tweaks and gambles.

Palace Team News: Sarr Out, Disasi Arrives

Pierre Sage must do without two key options. Ismaila Sarr and Chadi Riad are both ruled out.

Sarr’s absence is a blow, especially with transfer noise swirling around him. Linked with Liverpool, the winger is sidelined by a groin problem that Sage detailed before the game.

“Ismaila Sarr is in individual sessions; he is in pain with his groin, and that’s why he didn’t train with us today,” the Palace manager explained. No cloak-and-dagger, just a straight injury issue at a time when his pace and direct running would have been invaluable on the break.

At the back, new signing Axel Disasi is in the squad and already drawing praise from Sage after his loan arrival from Chelsea.

“He is ready, he had his first session with us today and gives us confidence with his experience. That’s why he’s a good addition for us,” Sage said, hinting at how quickly the defender could become central to Palace’s plans.

For now, Disasi starts on the bench, but his presence gives the home side a different option if City’s front line begins to bite.

Manchester City Team News: Doku Missing, Bouaddi on Standby

On the opposite bench, Maresca has his own selection problems to solve.

Jeremy Doku does not make the trip to Selhurst Park, while Matheus Nunes faces a race against time to be fit enough to feature fully.

“Jeremy is out, Matheus we will see; he is still not 100%,” Maresca confirmed, underlining that his midfield might need to be shuffled again in just the second league outing of his reign.

The spotlight, though, falls on a new face. Ayyoub Bouaddi, City’s £86m signing from Lille, is in line for a debut. Maresca likes what he sees, but he also knows the stakes.

“He doesn’t look 18, he looks older, which is important, but in this case we need to go slowly because he is young and came from another country,” the Italian said. The teenager starts among the substitutes, yet the size of the fee and the manager’s admiration suggest it may not be long before he is unleashed.

Confirmed Lineups

Here is how both sides line up at Selhurst Park.

Crystal Palace Starting XI

Henderson; Khalaili, Richards, Tomiyasu, Canvot, Mitchell; Wharton, Kamada; Nketiah, Pino, Strand Larsen

Crystal Palace Substitutes

Benitez, Mingueza, Munoz, Disasi, Lerma, Hughes, Gozo, Guessand

Sage leans on a back line with Tomiyasu and Mitchell as key pillars, Wharton and Kamada tasked with knitting things together in midfield. Up front, Eddie Nketiah leads the line, with Pino and Strand Larsen offering movement and physicality to trouble City on the counter.

Manchester City Starting XI

Donnarumma; Dias, Khushanov, Gvardiol, Guehi; Anderson, O’Reilly, Cherki; Foden, Semenyo, Haaland

Manchester City Substitutes

Rulli, Lewis, Kovacic, Ait-Nouri, Reis, Echeverri, Bouaddi, Mcaidoo, Braithwaite

Maresca’s side blends familiar star power with fresh faces. Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol anchor the defence, with Guehi intriguingly named in the back line alongside them. In midfield, Anderson, O’Reilly and Cherki carry the creative burden, while Phil Foden supports Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland in a front line built to overwhelm.

No Doku, a half-fit Nunes and a teenage record signing waiting in the wings. A Palace side still bedding in new pieces, missing Sarr but buoyed by Disasi’s arrival.

Selhurst Park has seen City suffer in flashes, even when the results went their way. With both managers reshaping their squads and a title charge already in City’s sights, this feels less like a routine August fixture and more like an early test of who they really are.