Monday Night Football: Guardiola’s good form and City’s leading marksman

Men's Team

Vieira shaping Palace in his own image say Onuoha and Sinclair

It will be City’s first game on a Monday since September 2020, when we beat Wolves 3-1 in our opening game of last season.

The Premier League leaders will be hoping for a similar outcome this time around against a Palace side who won 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium in October and, Guardiola’s men have form in games played at the beginning of the week.

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The Catalan has the best Monday Night Football record in the Premier League of managers who have taken charge of at least 10 games during his time at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola has won 21 of his 31 games in that period, drawing three for an average of 2.1 points per game.

Jurgen Klopp has achieved the same points per game rate with Liverpool, but has played one match more than the City boss and won two fewer.

Only Thomas Tuchel has a better points per game record on Mondays (2.6), but the Chelsea boss has been involved in just eight contests.

We have won 50.7% of our Monday fixtures, taking three points in 37 of our 73 contests stretching back to the Premier League’s debut campaign in 1992-93.

And, one player in particular stands out above all else in terms of goalscoring. 

Carlos Tevez boasts a remarkable Monday record, averaging more than a goal a game with 13 strikes in 11 appearances. 

That’s thanks to a remarkable run of form during a superb maiden campaign at the Club, when he hit the back of the net 29 times.

Included in his tally where two hat-tricks, both of which came on a Monday, as the Argentine hit top form to inspire City to a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers and a 3-0 victory at home to Wigan Athletic.

More often than not Tevez goals came in bunches, with the striker also netting braces against West Ham, Wolves and Liverpool to put himself clear of City’s other Monday marksmen.