Football League Championship side Crystal Palace will host Premier League side Manchester City on Thursday in the Carling Cup. The match will take place on Thursday, August 27th at 20:00 local time at Selhurst Park. Thursday's fixture will be a matchup of teams going different directions. Manchester City's big spending has bolstered their squad as they look to crack the top four of the Premier League. Crystal Palace meanwhile is stumbling out of the gates in the Championship and sits in the bottom half of the table with four points through four games.

City enters the match up coming off a victory last weekend in the Premier League. City defeated Wolverhampton 1-0 on Saturday. City will take wins no matter how they come, but they are no doubt disappointed they could manage only one goal at home against newly promoted Wolverhampton. Crystal Palace on the other hand is coming off a 2-0 loss at home to Newcastle United.

Manchester City continued their massive transfer spending this week, signing defender Joleon Lescott from Everton FC earlier this week. The transfer saga involving Lescott created a good deal of drama for both clubs, with bitter jabs going back and forth between Everton manager David Moyes and City officials. Lescott ended the drama signing earlier this week for five years. Crystal Palace has made their own addition this week by signing winger Ryan Smith. Smith has trained with Arsenal in the past and played for Southampton, Derby County, and Milwall. Smith has signed a three month short term deal and the club hopes he can finally realize his full potential. Both club's new players are expected to play in Thursday's Carling Cup match.

Advancement to the next round of the Carling Cup is on the line. The fixture is winner take all, no second leg, so both need to come prepared to play. The domestic cups in England, both the Carling Cup and FA Cup, are full of David and Goliath match ups. City's expensive roster has yet to dominate a team this season; they need to arrive ready to play as upsets are a yearly occurrence in the Carling Cup.

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