Manchester City’s second string eased past Crystal Palace 3-0 on Wednesday to climb just two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining of a captivating title race.

Pep Guardiola made six changes from the side that beat Brentford 3-0 at the weekend, with Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku among those on the bench, while Palace boss Oliver Glasner also made tweaks.

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First-half goals from Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush put City in control at a damp Etihad and a late strike from Savinho added gloss to the scoreline.

The tide appeared to have turned in City’s favour in the title race over recent weeks but last week’s costly 3-3 draw at Everton put Arsenal firmly back in the box seat.

The City players experienced the agony of seeing a stoppage-time equaliser for West Ham against Arsenal ruled out following a VAR check on Sunday as the Gunners battled to a 1-0 win.

Guardiola’s men dominated the ball in the early minutes on Wednesday but Palace, with Ismaila Sarr and Adam Wharton on the bench, posed a threat on the break.

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City opened the scoring in style in the 32nd minute after Foden produced an exquisite back pass to set up Semenyo, who finished coolly past Dean Henderson into the far corner of the goal.

They doubled their lead eight minutes later, with Foden again the provider, touching the ball to Marmoush, who celebrated his third Premier League goal of the season.

John Stones, departing at the end of the season, came on as a substitute towards the end of a forgettable second period to a rousing reception from the City fans.

Minutes later Rayan Cherki ran with the ball from his own half before setting up Savinho, who swept the ball past Henderson.

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The three-goal win takes City to 77 points, two behind Arsenal. City now have a superior goal difference of plus one and have scored seven more goals.

City take on Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, gunning for a domestic cup double after lifting the League Cup earlier this season.

Before kick-off on Wednesday, Guardiola explained his multiple changes, saying: “When the schedule is so tight, everybody is fit, everybody needs to help.”

Despite the narrow gap, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal remain overwhelming favourites to win their first Premier League title since 2004.

City next face a tricky match at Bournemouth, who are chasing Champions League qualification, and finish their campaign against Aston Villa.

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Arsenal host relegated Burnley next week before travelling to Palace for the final day of the season.

Palace, who beat City in last season’s FA Cup final, are 15th in the table.

But their focus now is on the UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano in Leipzig on May 27 — Glasner’s final match in charge of the south London club.

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Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been in sensational form with the willow in IPL 2026. In 11 innings, the 15-year-old has scored 440 runs at an average of 40 and a strike rate of 236.55. The left-handed batter’s stats include one century and two half-centuries.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Sanju Samson has also been in impressive form for his new franchise. After beginning the tournament with a few low scores, he quickly picked himself up. In 11 innings, Samson has scored 430 runs at an average of 53.75 and a strike rate of 169.29, with two centuries and one fifty.

Sooryavanshi has so far opened the innings in 18 matches in the IPL. In this feature, we compare his batting stats with those of Samson after the latter had also opened the innings in the same number of matches.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Sanju Samson – Who has a better average and strike rate after opening in 18 IPL matches?

In 18 IPL matches as opener, Sooryavanshi has scored 692 runs at an average of 38.44 and a sensational strike of 224.67 – all of them for RR. In three innings against Gujarat Titans (GT), the left-hander has scored 168 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 233.33. Also, in two innings against CSK, he has scored 109 runs at an average of 54.50 and a strike rate of 218.

After 18 IPL games as opener, Samson had 472 runs to his name, averaging 26.22 at a strike rate of 130.74. In 13 games for Delhi Capitals (DC), he had 339 runs, averaging 26.07 at a strike rate of 135.60. Also, in five matches for RR, he had 133 runs at an average of 26.60 and a strike rate of 119.81. In four games against Mumbai Indians (MI), he had scored 100 runs at a strike rate of 142.85.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Sanju Samson – Who has more hundreds after opening in 18 IPL matches?

After 18 IPL matches as opener, Sooryavanshi has two hundreds and three half-centuries to his name. The 15-year-old slammed 103 off just 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Jaipur in the ongoing edition. The sensational knock featured five fours and 12 sixes. He also hammered 101 off 38 balls against GT in Jaipur last season, clobbering seven fours and 11 sixes.

After 18 IPL games as opener, Samson had three half-centuries to his name. His best at that stage was 74, which came off 47 deliveries against MI at Wankhede Stadium in the 2014 edition. The innings included seven fours and three sixes. He had also scored 61 off 31 against Gujarat Lions (GL) in Delhi in IPL 2017 and 60 off 38 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens in the same season.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Sanju Samson – Who has more fours and sixes after opening in 18 IPL matches?

In 18 IPL matches as opener, Sooryavanshi has hammered 56 fours and 64 sixes. The southpaw has struck 15 fours and 15 sixes in three innings against GT and five fours and 12 sixes in two innings against SRH. Also, he has eight fours and nine sixes in two innings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and seven fours and nine sixes in two innings against Punjab Kings (PBKS).

(Sooryavanshi vs Samson – Batting stats comparison after 18 IPL games as opener)

After 18 IPL games as opener, Samson had struck 43 fours and 18 sixes. The right-hander had slammed 30 fours and 15 sixes in 13 matches for DC and 13 fours and three sixes in five matches for RR. In four matches against MI, Samson had struck 12 fours and three sixes.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Sanju Samson – Who has a better record in wins after opening in 18 IPL matches?

In eight wins, Sooryavanshi has scored 409 runs at an average of 51.12 and a strike rate of 236.41, with one hundred and three half-centuries. In 10 losses, he has 283 runs, averaging 28.30 at a strike rate of 209.62. His knock of 103 against SRH came in a losing cause.

(Sooryavanshi vs Samson – Batting stats comparison in wins after 18 IPL games as opener)

In eight wins, Samson had 173 runs to his name at an average of 21.62 and a strike rate of 124.46, with one half-century. In 10 losses, he had 299 runs to his name at an average of 29.90 and a strike rate of 134.68, with two half-centuries.