Manchester City comfortably beat Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday to move back to within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal and ensure a tense title tussle continues into the final week of the season. Pep Guardiola's side knew that failure to win would have handed the Gunners the chance to clinch the title by beating Burnley on Monday, but this fascinating fight for the trophy now looks like it is going to the wire.
With both title challengers having two games remaining and 36 played each, City still have a slender chance of a seventh league crown in nine years. There would be no precedent for it, however — no team in top-division history has made up a deficit as late as May to win the title — and Guardiola needs a favour from Burnley or from Palace, who host Arsenal on the season's final day.
A Calculated Gamble With Wembley in Mind
With Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea in mind, Guardiola gambled with his selection, making six changes from the 3-0 win against Brentford and leaving out the attacking trio of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and the in-form Jeremy Doku. Among the fresh personnel was Josko Gvardiol, who had not played since early January owing to a broken leg, alongside Rayan Aït-Nouri, deployed in an unfamiliar advanced role on the left ahead of Bernardo Silva and Foden in midfield.