The Dugout Discussion – Man City vs Crystal Palace

Gameweek 17 begins on Manchester, as Manuel Pellegrini’s City unit gather themselves to face Crystal Palace at the Etihad.

The Chilean has his work cut out. With all three recognised strikers laid up, we’re expecting Pellegrini to roll out something that resembles “false nine” setup.

Neil Warnock and us Fantasy managers can only speculate on what form that will take, with the possibility that either Samir Nasri or David Silva will be the central fulcrum for City’s waves of attacks from midfield. Meanwhile, Palace’s free-styling wingers have a stage to make a name for themselves. It’s going to be interesting.

Following this, a batch of six afternoon kick-offs follow, with no evening match to see us out. Presumably Christmas shopping takes precedence. Bah humbug.