Palace ratings

Given Yet again he bailed us out with three or four quality saves, particularly from Freddie Sears in the first half and then a few others low down and late on. I do wonder how we would have done in our first few games this season with Joe Hart still in goal. Arguably the team's most important player. 8

Richards Was given a torrid time by Palace left-winger Victor Moses, picking up an early yellow card and never really looking comfortable against his direct running. Was beaten too many times as Palace surged forward. Did not offer too much going forward. How much longer can the case for Zabaleta be ignored? 4

Touré His first game as City captain, and we can only hope that it is the first of many. A towering presence in the air, he had some real battles with Alassane N'Diaye from Palace set-pieces and looked more assured than the occasionally jittery Lescott. 7

Lescott In some ways the man of the day - every touch was cheered in the opening minutes - but he didn't have the smoothest of debuts. Caught out too many times by the pace of Freddie Sears and missed one or two important clearances or interceptions. A few touches of real class bringing the ball out of the back show that he's got the ability to be a big star though. 6

Bridge Linked up well with Robinho and Gareth Barry down the left, as he has done so far this season. Generally competent at the back, although he could have been booked at the very least for a tackle on Moses that Neil Warnock described as 'manslaughter.' 6

Barry A real class act. His ability to retain possession in the most difficult of circumstances is a marvel, and most of our attacks last night started with him. Already looks like he's been playing for City for years. As good a piece of business as Shay Given, and as important a player to our team now. 8

Ireland Another game in his new Xabi Alonso role and he still does not look fully comfortable with it: denied time on the ball and unable to dictate play as was his job. There were bright moments - his assist to SWP and a one-two with Tévez - but only when he broke his shackles and surged forward. 5

SWP Our brightest attacking player on the night, and one of the form players in the first month of the season. Every time he got the ball he looked dangerous, jinking past Palace defenders in a way Robinho could not. Took his goal coolly and swung in the corner which Tévez headed in. 8

Tévez Clearly relished the cup tie atmosphere and battled hard with the Palace defenders all evening. Missed a few good chances - one after two minutes - but took his first goal for City well. 7

Adebayor Did not continue his scoring streak - had a very good chance but was denied by Julián Speroni. Otherwise effective at knitting attacks together and linking with Tévez and Robinho. 6

Robinho With the competition for places that we now have, he cannot continue to perform like this and keep his place in the team. He was poor last night, failing ever really to influence the game or cause any problems for the Palace right-back. Unlucky with one offside decision from the linesman. 4

Subs:

Bellamy Too late to mark
de Jong Too late to mark

Palace 0 - 2 City

• More like our previous two league games than most would have expected, in terms of selection, performance and result. I was anticipating wholesale changes - Petrov, Zabaleta, Weiss and Onuoha all in the team - but a comfortable win against placid opposition. What we got was quite the opposite in every regard: our first choice team, a spirited Palace side and a narrow win with some rather nervy moments.

• Just like the Blackburn and Wolves matches, we failed to control the game as much as we may have liked. With only Gareth Barry and Stephen Ireland there to prop up what was essentially 4-2-4, and Palace's energetic midfield constantly pressing us, we could never fully settle as we would have liked. Wright-Phillips did track back, but too often it was three or four Palace midfielders up against Barry and Ireland and we were overrun.

• The plus side of 4-2-4, though, is that there were brief periods when our attacking play was compelling. We impressed in the first twenty minutes or so of both the first and second halves, creating more than enough chances to win the game. But Tévez, Wright-Phillips and Adebayor all missed good opportunities and we could never really get clear of Palace. We're going to tear someone apart next month.
  

• The same group of players have now played four games in the last twelve days. I know they're all professional footballers and all that, but I do wonder if Hughes will make any changes at Fratton Park on Sunday. Robinho isn't exactly earning his place in the side at the moment, and it's possible that Hughes will want another body in midfield - presumably Nigel de Jong - if not this Sunday then certainly against Arsenal and United. Because I'm just not sure how sustainable this four forwards set up is.

• But let's not take our eyes off the key point here: unlike last season, we managed to negotiate our way past a difficult away trip. Given our trophy hunger we can't trivialise simple progress. And two key players scored their first goals of the season. Hughes has talked about the winning mentality we need - the ability to grind out results in difficult circumstances. Of course, I'd rather we won by playing well. But we shoudn't turn our noses up at simply winning for the time being.
  

Palace preview

It's pretty commonplace to say that 'if there's one thing City need to improve this season, it's their away form in the league.' Wrong. There's two things: away form in the league, and our performance in the domestic cups. Last season our performance in the domestic cups was as bad as it possibly could have been: two first round exits, to Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest, in dramatic and traumatic circumstances respectively.

We are in the strange position this season of having a squad of the depth and quality to compete in Europe, but no European competitions in which to deploy it. And so the domestic cups become much more important than they otherwise would be. Not only could we do with a trophy this season to really boost our global profile (and, you know, because it's been a while), but because a dozen or so games in the cups could be the difference between Pablo Zabaleta, Nigel de Jong, Craig Bellamy and Vincent Kompany getting enough minutes to keep them happy and a less pleasant outcome.

So tomorrow night's game is big. It could well be the start of a run that will end in glory at Wembley. And we're up against a team who are promising to rest players. A win is a must. With our squad the size it is, we can rest the big names and still put out a strong, hungry and fit side with enough quality to see Palace off. How about this:


Onuoha, Zabaleta, Petrov, de Jong and Bellamy will all definitely play. Weiss is a good bet too. Of the new recruits more game time might push Tévez and Touré into the side. And it's arguable that Ireland needs games if he's going to grow into this Xabi Alonso role Hughes is getting him to play.

Regardless, it should be enough for Crystal Palace. Prediction? 3-0.