With qualification for the Champions League knockout stages already secured, Pep Guardiola picked a youthful side for the 3-2 win in Serbia.
Many of those rested come back into the side, with only Rico and Jack Grealish set to start both games.
Neither Erling Haaland nor Jeremy Doku have been included in the matchday squad while Mahamadou Susoho is on the bench in the Premier League for the first time.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Ederson, Walker (C), Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Lewis, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez
Subs: Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Stones, Kovacic, Gomez, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Susoho
Crystal Palace XI: Henderson, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Clyne, Mitchell, Riedewald, Richards, Olise, Schlupp, Mateta
Subs: Matthews, Tomkins, Eze, Franca, Ebiowei, Ahamada, Ozoh, Ola-Adebomi
TACTICS
With every starting line-up he picks, Guardiola has options in how to set up his team which keeps everyone guessing.
Among them is at left-back where he could go with Josko Gvardiol in the role and Nathan Ake playing alongside Ruben Dias in the centre of defence, with captain Kyle Walker on the right.
Rodrigo will be back in his holding midfield role with potentially Bernardo Silva and Rico Lewis ahead of him.
That would see a front three of Jack Grealish on the left and Phil Foden on the right with Julian Alvarez spearheading the attack.
Silva standard
Our last four goals against Crystal Palace have been scored by Haaland so his loss from the starting line-up is always going to felt.
His penalty at Selhurst Park last March secured a crucial victory and before that a 19-minute hat-trick secured a stunning 4-2 fightback in August.
That comeback was parked by a low smart finish by Bernardo and the Portuguese international did the same last weekend with a clever strike in the 2-1 victory over Luton.
As we come towards the end of the year, it has led to chatter about who has been the best player in the Premier League over the past 12 months with Bernardo’s name high on the list and top of many.
As well as big goals in 2023, he’s had a huge impact on our attack, carrying on this season and lessening the blow of the enforced creative absence of Kevin De Bruyne.
Bernardo has created 27 opportunities already this season, of which a third were big chances, with only Mohamed Salah having a higher share of big chances created (36%).
MATCH STATS
City have not failed to win three consecutive home league games since October-December 2016, a run of four in which the first three were all draws.
Since Pep Guardiola was appointed, only Manchester United (three) have won more away league games at the Etihad than Crystal Palace (two).
Of our last 13 Premier League goals against Crystal Palace, 12 have come in the second half of games, including the last 10 in a row. We trailed 2-0 at half-time in this exact fixture last term, before coming back to win 4-2.
Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace won 1-0 at Old Trafford earlier this season. The last team to win away at both Manchester clubs in a Premier League season were Leicester in 2020/21, while Hodgson would become the first English manager to do so since Steve McClaren in 2003/04.
Crystal Palace have won 68.8% of their Premier League points in away games so far this season (11/16), the highest ratio in the division. Three of the Eagles’ four wins so far have come on the road, winning more games in the north west of the country (two) than in London (one).
Odsonne Edouard has scored 40% of Crystal Palace’s Premier League goals this season (6/15), the highest share of any player for their team so far this term.
