Nico O'Reilly credited former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola as key to his meteoric rise with the club after he was named the Young Player of the Year at the PFA awards. 

O'Reilly's sensational 2025-26 campaign, which saw him win two trophies with the Citizens, was rewarded on Tuesday after he succeeded Morgan Rogers in scooping the award.

The 21-year-old made 55 appearances across all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing six assists, which was the fifth-highest total throughout City's entire squad. 

He also netted both goals in City's EFL Cup triumph over Arsenal, becoming the third-youngest player to score a brace in the competition's final, aged 21 years and one day.

O'Reilly made his City debut in the 2024 Community Shield before becoming a mainstay in the team last term, and he thanked Guardiola for the role he has played in his career. 

"Pep was a great manager. He put his trust in me, which I can only be grateful for. He helped me so much on the pitch and off the pitch as a person," O'Reilly said. 

"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be sitting in this position right now. Thank you to him. 

"It means a lot obviously to get recognised by the players that you play with and play around. It is a huge award to win.

"Obviously, the players that have won it before have gone on to do massive things themselves. It feels amazing. To even be part of this team is a huge and great feeling.

"But to help this team out to win trophies or win games, it is an amazing feeling. Obviously, I came through the academy, and I have been here all my life, so it means even more."

O'Reilly is now under the guidance of Enzo Maresca, and he was deployed in the attacking midfield position during their comeback win over Bournemouth on the opening day. 

City now turn their attention to their next Premier League clash, with a trip to Selhurst Park to take on Pierre Sage's Crystal Palace as their next assignment this Friday. 

The Eagles began their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry on target for the Toffees. 

Palace recorded an expected goals (xG) tally of 2.04, their highest in a Premier League game without scoring since December 2018 against Cardiff (2.1), and defender Chris Richards acknowledged the need for improvements. 

"Improving on everything, in the league [last season] we dropped a bit lower than we wanted to. It would be great to win some silverware," Richards said.

"We've got a taste for it, so it would be great to win some three years in a row.  This [Everton] is a tough place to play, regardless of the stage of the season.

"The first game of the season, you can't leave chances on the table. They carried momentum into the second half, and it was an uphill battle from there."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Crystal Palace – Adam Wharton

Only two players recorded more line-breaking passes in the final third on MD1 of the 2026-27 Premier League season than Wharton (13).

Wharton also won possession eight times, the joint-third most of any player, and he will be hoping to prove a thorn in City's side when they visit Selhurst Park.

Manchester City – Erling Haaland

Despite not scoring on the opening day, Haaland has found the back of the net in all five of his Premier League games against Crystal Palace, netting eight goals in total.

It's the best 100% scoring record a player has against an opponent in the competition, while the only players to net in each of their first six against a side are Raheem Sterling and Mohamed Salah (both vs Bournemouth).

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

City are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League away games against Palace (W8 D3) since a 2-1 loss in April 2015 under Manuel Pellegrini.

The Citizens have, however, only won four of their 10 top-flight away matches in 2026 (D5 L1), while Maresca failed to win any of his final three away league games with Chelsea (D2 L1).

After winning seven of his first 12 Premier League games against sides starting with a back three/five (D2 L3), Maresca has since won just four of his last 10 (D2 L4), suffering defeats in three of his previous five such games.

Palace, meanwhile, have won just two of their last 22 Premier League games against City (D5 L15), and are winless in nine against them since a 2-0 away win in October 2021.

The Eagles are also without a win in their last eight Premier League games (D3 L5). Since returning to the top-flight in 2013-14, only in February last season (nine), March 2023 (12), and April 2016 (14) have they endured longer winless runs in the competition.

However, there is reason for optimism. Only Brighton (3.54) recorded a higher open play xG on MD1 of the 2026-27 Premier League season than Palace (1.96), with the Eagles the biggest underachievers last season (-12.9) between goals from open play (22 – ex. own goals) and open play xG (34.9).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Crystal Palace – 19.8%

Draw – 22.7%

Manchester City – 57.5%