The Eagles succumbed to a dogged Everton side 2-0 in their opening-day fixture, whilst the Cityzens were heading towards a surprise defeat against Bournemouth before a late fightback saw them triumph 2-1.
Palace haven't beaten City at Selhurst Park since 2015
Enzo Maresca was clearly delighted by the courage his players showed, and he'll be comforted by the knowledge that City are unbeaten in their last 11 visits to South London, winning eight of those games against Palace and drawing the other three.
The last time that the Eagles managed a home win against City came way back in 2015, when Manuel Pellegrini's side were defeated 2-1.
To give even more perspective on just how difficult an assignment this could be for Pierre Sage and his squad, their opponents have won 14 and drawn five of the last 22 meetings.
Aside from that 2015 victory, the only other times in that run that Palace have emerged victorious were at the Etihad Stadium in December 2018 (3-2) and in October 2021 (2-0), as well as an FA Cup victory in 2025 at Wembley.
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No wins in eight for the Eagles
Furthermore, taking into account games played at the back end of the 2025/26 campaign, the South London outfit are winless in their last eight Premier League matches (L5, D3).
A small beacon of hope for Palace can be found in City's away record in 2026, with only four wins recorded from 10 league games played. Maresca didn't win any of his away matches in the calendar year either, drawing two and losing the other, before departing Chelsea.
The Italian has also won just four of his last 10 Premier League matches against teams that play with a back three or back five, after winning seven of his first 12 such fixtures.
Sage might well be encouraged by one or two other stats that emerged from their match against Everton, even if ultimately the result wasn't in his team's favour.
Haaland could make it six in a row
Much-coveted midfield ace Adam Wharton made 13 line-breaking passes against the Toffees - only two players in the league made more, and won possession back for the Eagles on eight separate occasions, the joint-third most of any Premier League player on MD1.
Only Brighton and Hove Albion recorded a better open play xG than Palace's 1.96, and it was the Seagulls who were also the one side to have more high turnovers; 19 to the Eagles' 15.
Of course, the hosts will need to be wary of the excellence of Erling Haaland, who didn't get off the mark against Bournemouth.
The Norwegian powerhouse has found the net in all five Premier League games against Palace, scoring eight goals, which is the best 100% record that a player has in the competition since its inception.
Only Mo Salah and Raheem Sterling have scored in their first six games against a single opponent (both against Bournemouth), so Haaland can equal that record on Friday evening.
Sarr and Doku sidelined
Even if the centre-forward is kept quiet, the hosts will have their hands full with Rayan Cherki, who leads the list of players with the most open-play assists (12) since the start of the 2025/26 campaign.
His 30 through balls and 8.2 open-play expected assists place him second for those metrics, too.
A big miss for the hosts will be Ismaila Sarr, who is taking longer than expected to recover from a groin injury, whilst Chadi Riad also remains sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Jeremy Doku is out for City, who will give Elliot Anderson a late fitness test to determine how much of a part he plays in this game, if any.
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Sage and Maresca need to put a marker down
Whatever the performance levels in this game, the result will be important for both clubs, though for slightly different reasons.
Having lost Oliver Glasner at the end of last season - the Austrian now having pitched up at Nottingham Forest - Sage has a lot to live up to, particularly given Palace's participation in this season's Europa League, and the potential of losing Jean-Philippe Mateta in the final days of the current transfer window.
City's loss of Pep Guardiola could be said to be even more acute, though Maresca at least had the knowledge of having been one of his backroom staff, so knew exactly what he was walking into when he accepted the unenviable task of replacing the Catalan.
Furthermore, there will be an expectation that City will wrestle the title back from Arsenal, whilst Palace's aspirations, with respect, will probably be to end the campaign as a comfortable mid-table team, and possibly add another piece of silverware to the cabinet if the stars align once more.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
