  Motivated by the recent discovery of superconductivity in the Sr-doped
layered nickelate NdNiO$_2$, we perform a systematic computational materials
design of layered nickelates that are dynamically stable and whose electronic
structure better mimics the electronic structure of high-$T_c$ cuprates than
NdNiO$_2$. While the Ni $3d$ orbitals are self-doped from the $d^9$
configuration in NdNiO$_2$ and the Nd-layer states form Fermi pockets, we find
more than 10 promising compounds for which the self-doping is almost or even
completely suppressed. We derive effective single-band models for those
materials and find that they are in the strongly-correlated regime. We also
investigate the possibility of palladate analogues of high-$T_c$ cuprates. Once
synthesized, these nickelates and palladates will provide a firm ground for
studying superconductivity in the Mott-Hubbard regime of the
Zaanen-Sawatzky-Allen classification.
