Man City vs Crystal Palace live early team news plus kick-off time and how to watch

Hello and welcome to the Manchester Evening News' live coverage of Manchester City's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

City will hope to climb back into the top five having dropped to sixth following the dire derby draw with Manchester United last time out. Pep Guardiola's side kick off the Premier League weekend and a win will lift them into fourth ahead of rivals Chelsea and Newcastle United playing on Sunday.

But dropped points for the Blues would open the door for Aston Villa to push City down to seventh. It was confirmed this week that fifth place in the Premier League will be enough to earn Champions League football for next season.

City have struggled against Palace in recent times. The two sides drew 2-2 in the reverse fixture while the Blues have won just two of their last six home meetings with the Eagles and in one of those they recovered from two goals down.

In terms of the team news, City could be without Phil Foden after he suffered a knock against United. He joins a lengthy injury list that includes Erling Haaland, John Stones, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Rodri.

Kick off at the Etihad Stadium is 12.30pm and you can follow all the build-up, action, reaction and analysis with us right here.

Welcome to our live coverage of Manchester City's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

It has to be better than last weekend doesn't it? That was a Manchester derby that will not live long in the memory and the point City collected was not enough to keep them in the top five after Newcastle brushed aside Leicester City.

That means victory today is vital for the Blues, who will go fourth with a win and, as the first team in action this weekend, can put the pressure on their Champions league chasing