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Manchester City: On form, and historically, Crystal Palace need not show.

By Jason Bardwell

4 Nov 1989: Portrait of Fisher Athletic Manager Malcolm Allison peering from the dugout during the GM Vauxhall Conference match against Stafford Rovers at the Salter Road ground in England. Stafford Rovers won the match 2-0. \ Mandatory Credit: Allsport /Allsport
4 Nov 1989: Portrait of Fisher Athletic Manager Malcolm Allison peering from the dugout during the GM Vauxhall Conference match against Stafford Rovers at the Salter Road ground in England. Stafford Rovers won the match 2-0. \ Mandatory Credit: Allsport /Allsport /
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The Premier League resumes Saturday as Manchester City welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad. So far, the visitors, are still looking for their first points and first goals of the Premier League season.

The removal of Frank DeBoer will be considered right if Palace retain their Premiership status, although Hodgson has his work cut out.

History Of The Fixture:

It shouldn’t be anything but a City win going by both recent and historical form. City head into the game joint top with United with thirteen points. The hosts are averaging three goals a game in the Premiership alone, conceding one every two and a half. Palace have shipped at a rate of almost two a game.

Historically City have the advantage also. In the fifty-seven competitive meetings between the two, City have won more than half. The first meeting was an FA Cup tie in 1921 at their place, which was one of the fifteen City have lost. Four years later, in the same competition, we beat them 11-4 at ours.

Strangely we didn’t meet in the League until 1965, and we lost that too. That said, defeat at our place last happened on the 22nd December 1990 when we lost 2-0. We would finish fifth that season, above United, and Palace finished third.

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Personnel We’ve Shared:

Steve Coppell managed both sides, although his stint at City was short-lived and farcical. Although he did last longer, game wise, than DeBoer he was gone again in 33 days. Four separate spells at Palace, one of which he left to spend time in our revolving seat.

Slightly better well-known at City would be Malcolm Allison. Along with Joe Mercer he oversaw the most succesful era Manchester City had seen, up until now. Once he took the reigns on his own things deteriorated, but we shall remember him fondly for the partnership.

Joining Palace as manager, he is the reason Palace are known as the ‘Eagles’. He was ahead of his time at City in regard sports science and was ahead of his time at Palace regarding marketing.

Playing wise you have had Palace take a lot of our players on loan, Adarabioyo being one of the most recent. Of course not Tosin, but his brother Fisayo.

Emmanual Adebayor played for Palace in 2016, spending less than six months at Selhurst Park before moving on. While Sun Jihai was on loan at Palace before being picked up by City.

Next: Manchester City: Palace next up as Roy's woes mount

Kit Symons, Andy Morrison, Jamie Pollock, Paul Dickov and Gareth Taylor were all at City during our time in the third tier of English football. Lee Bradbury left as we were relegated while Mark Kennedy joined us in the season after the Play-off win. All, with the exception of Taylor either left City and then joined Palace or played for Palace on loan from us.

Other names come from the 1980’s and 90’s. Clive Allen, Eddie McGoldrick, Paul Stewart and Terry Phelan all played for both.