Crystal Palace and Manchester City will ‘double’ in Gameweek 36.
The Eagles have been largely dormant as Fantasy picks for a while. They blanked in Gameweek 31, have not had any doubles to date, and played away at Liverpool when many managers were Free Hitting in Gameweek 34.
But now, they’re back on the radar for this final Double Gameweek of 2025/26.
In ‘Scouting the Doubles’, we look at the pick of Palace’s players, analyse their Gameweek 36 opponents, assess the rotation risks and more.
*Note: This was an article that was first published ahead of Gameweek 35 but has since been updated with the data/findings from the weekend’s football.
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PALACE’S DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 36 OPPONENTS
| xG rank (last six) | xG rank (season) | xGC rank (last six) | xGC rank (season) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everton | 9th | 12th | 17th | 17th |
| Man City | 1st | 1st | 9th | 2nd |
The underlying data for both Everton and Man City is similar over the last six matches and the whole of the season.
The major blip is City’s xGC over the last six fixturews, with Monday’s rollercoaster game at Goodison Park mostly accounting for that aberration.
Even when looking only at away matches (the Toffees visit Selhurst Park in Gameweek 36), Everton rank a similar 12th/15th for xG/xGC on the road.
City, who host Palace in Gameweek 36, are 2nd/3rd for xG/xGC in home fixtures in 2025/26.
EVERTON
Given that they’ve kept a fourth-best 11 clean sheets, it’s a surprise to see Everton so low down in the xGC stakes.
Having a reliable goalkeeper between the sticks always helps. In fact, Palace will be coming up against two of the best custodians for xG prevented in Gameweek 36:
Everton are without a clean sheet in their last six away matches but they don’t concede many on the road.
In fact, not once in 2025/26 have they shipped more than two goals in an away fixture:
Expect some stubbornness at Selhurst from the Toffees, who have the lowest block in the division in away fixtures:
MANCHESTER CITY
The toughest test, in theory, is at the Etihad.
City haven’t lost at home in the league since August, when Tottenham Hotspur left with three points.
If there is a glimmer of hope for Palace, it’s that City have conceded twice as many home goals to bottom-half teams (eight) as top-half clubs (four). A bit more carefree abandon shown in the easier-on-paper fixtures, perhaps?
Of course, the present City side has little resemblance to the one that lost to Spurs in Gameweek 2. Nine of that defeated starting XI weren’t in the line-up for the Gameweek 33 win over Arsenal!
Guardiola seems settled with his current regulars, and you can see why, looking at the recent underlying attacking numbers:
Above: Man City’s rolling six-game xG/xGC graph in 2025/26
A tough test awaits the Eagles at the Etihad.
ROTATION RISKS
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