Struggling Palace face City test

While Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will hope to ramp up the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race by winning at Crystal Palace on Saturday, the hosts' manager Patrick Vieira will be under pressure to save his job.

According to reports, the Palace hierarchy are concerned about being dragged into a relegation battle having failed to win a single Premier League game in 2023.

After hosting champions Manchester City, Palace face arch-rivals Brighton and league leaders Arsenal in their next two matches.

Vieira was appointed in July 2021 and led the Eagles to a 12th-place finish last term.

But their form has nosedived in recent months and while they are sitting 12th in the table again as it stands, they are only five points clear of the bottom three.

Palace's last victory came against Bournemouth on New Year's Eve.

City, however, will not show any mercy on Vieira's side, especially when there is a chance to close the points gap to two with leaders Arsenal (at 63 points from 26 games) -- at least till Mikel Arteta's men take on Fulham away from home the next day.

City have enjoyed a rare midweek off, but Guardiola's team selection could also be impacted by Tuesday's Champions League last 16, second leg against RB Leipzig with the tie finely balanced at 1-1.