ALL of Manchester City's rivals won at the weekend. Can they follow suit on Monday against Crystal Palace? Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) takes a look.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City | Monday 20:00 | Sky Sports 1
When I first set eyes on these odds back on Thursday my gut feel was that Man City were too short. Days have passed since, but that feeling remains.
At best price 7/10 it's really hard to get excited about backing a side with four defeats in their last six matches. A side who've incredibly dropped to fourth in the table. A side whose manager seems to clinging on to his job for dear life. All is not well over at Eastlands.
And then there's their opponents Crystal Palace. The London club are free of all the relegation hassle that's encircling six other clubs at the moment, and that's a lot to do with their manager Alan Pardew.
Since he turned up in early-January, Palace have won eight of their 13 matches. Tottenham, Southampton, Stoke and West Ham have been amongst their victims and if they carry on in this frame of mind, a Top 10 finish is very possible.
Three wins in their last four matches also represents a side in good form, but if there's one negative with regard to this match it's the fact that only two of those wins were achieved at Selhurst Park.
With two weeks rest under their belt for some of their staff, maybe Manchester City can come flying out the traps on Monday night. It's also worth being aware of what they can achieve on those rare occasions when it all clicks, but from a betting point of view they have to be avoided here.
I've had a good weekend with odds-against winners in three of the Premier League games I've covered, so I'll side with an odds on pick here and back Crystal Palace +1 on the Asian Handicap.
None of Alan Pardew's four defeats have been by more than one goal and if we do see an odd goal defeat by Palace I'll get my stake back.
Best Bets
Crystal Palace v Man City – Crystal Palace +1 Asian Handicap (5/6 BetVictor)
4/1 Man City to beat Palace
New Betfair players can get a massive 4/1 on Man City winning. Just click the link above to get involved.