Crystal Palace will be without captain Marc Guehi and Eddie Nketiah for their Premier League trip to Manchester City on April 12.
Both Guehi and Nketiah played in the Eagles’ 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, with the former starting in the back three and the latter coming on as a second-half substitute.
Just nine minutes after replacing Jean-Philippe Mateta up front, Nketiah was sent off for two bookable offences – the first received just 60 seconds after coming off the bench for simulation after referee Anthony Taylor felt that the striker had dived into the penalty area, before the ex-Arsenal man was shown a second yellow card for a high challenge on Jan Paul van Hecke.
Guehi, who had been booked prior to Nketiah’s introduction for a clumsy tackle on Van Hecke, was given his marching orders for a poorly-timed tackle on Brajan Gruda, reciving his second yellow for jumping towards the Brighton attacker’s thigh with the studs of his right boot showing.
Brighton’s Van Hecke then became the third player to be dismissed deep into second-half stoppage time to cap a chaotic A23 derby, but it was the nine-man Palace who held on, despite the lengthy amount of injury time added on, to claim their 11th league win of the season and complete their first double over the Seagulls since 1932-33.
Mateta’s third-minute opener was cancelled out by Seagulls striker Danny Welbeck just after the half-hour mark, but right wing-back Daniel Munoz netted what proved to be the match-winner 10 minutes after the interval.
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Guehi, Nketiah suspended – How will Glasner cope without Palace pair for Man City clash?
Victory for Palace has seen them climb up to 11th in the Premier League table and just five points behind Aston Villa in seventh, but Oliver Glasner‘s side have suffered a double blow ahead of their lunchtime kickoff against Man City at the Etihad Stadium in a weeks’ time.
Indeed, the Eagles will have to cope without Guehi and Nketiah as they will now serve one-match suspensions after they were both sent off against Brighton.
Guehi and Nketiah, who are banned for one game and not three after avoiding a straight red card, are due to return to first-team action four days later on April 16 when Palace take on Newcastle United at St James Park.
England international Guehi has been ever-present in the Palace side this season, starting all 29 of their Premier League matches, but his absence against Man City will likely see Glasner hand either Joel Ward or Nathaniel Clyne at start at centre-back, unless Chris Richards can recover from a calf injury in time to link arms with Maxence Lacroix and possibly Jefferson Lerma in a three-man backline.
As for Nketiah, he has started only seven of his 22 top-flight appearances and would have been expected to begin as a substitute against Man City, with Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr the most likely duo to continue supporting Mateta in attack.
On a positive note for Palace, Man City themselves will also be without a number of key players for next weekend’s match, with top scorer Erling Haaland facing five to seven weeks out with an ankle injury, joining Rodri, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and John Stones in the treatment room.
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