Arsenal v Crystal Palace – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Arsenal host Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday. The Gunners played 120 minutes and lost on penalties on Thursday night and will be carrying some fatigue into this match. Palace have parted ways with Patrick Vieira ahead of this match against his former club, and are winless in 11 league fixtures but will prove a test for Arsenal’s title ambitions.

Arsenal Form

Arsenal were knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday night after a 1-1 draw, extra time, and then penalties against Sporting Lisbon. They had drawn the first leg 2-2 in Portugal a week earlier. In the league, Arsenal are in top form and have put to bed their three-match winless run which culminated in losing 3-1 to Man City and relinquishing the top spot.

They won 4-2 at Aston Villa with two late goals and limited Leicester to one shot in a 1-0 win. They then thrashed Everton 4-0 and scored in the dying moments to beat Bournemouth 3-2. A week ago, they were outstanding in a 3-0 win at Fulham as they led by three goals at the interval.

Arsenal Team News

Arteta had a terrible Thursday night as William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu both went off injured in the first half. If Saliba is missing there, it may mean Rob Holding partners Gabriel with Ben White are needed right back.

Eddie Nketiah will be out until after the international break but Gabriel Jesus played 45 minutes vs Sporting and boosts the options. It’s expected to be the same front three as last week with Leandro Trossard as the number nine after his hattrick of assists at Fulham.

Arsenal Motivation

Nothing but a win will do. Arsenal will be desperate to take three points before the international break.

Fatigue is likely to be a factor and Palace can be an obdurate opponent to patience will be needed.

Crystal Palace Form

The Eagles are 11 league matches without a win. Their gap to the bottom three is now just three points and they need some points urgently to avoid a full-on relegation battle. The side have lost thee matches in a row having previously been on a run of one loss in six, drawing five of those.

After leaking a 96th-minute equaliser at Brentford in a 1-1 draw, they edged a 0-0 home draw against Liverpool. They were then beaten 1-0 at Aston Villa with ten men. A 1-0 home loss to Man City saw them looking on course for a 0-0 draw before Michael Olise conceded a penalty. In midweek, they actually outplayed Brighton in the first half but lost 1-0.

Crystal Palace Team News

Palace have a big issue in goal for this match. Sam Johnstone is injured and Vicente Guita missed the Brighton defeat. There may be another start for 19-year-old Joseph Whitworth if Guita doesn’t recover. Will Hughes and James McArthur are both injured in midfield

Eberechi Eze has been on the bench in recent matches and will hope for a start in this one. Jordan Ayew could also earn a recall for his work rate down the flanks. Wilf Zaha tends to play as a central striker against the big six so he could move up there with Odsonne Edouard dropped.

Crystal Palace Motivation

Patrick Vieira’s approach in recent weeks has been pretty defensive. He is trying to eke out results and has been quite close to wins or draws before taking less than they may have deserved from matches.

In this one, they’d take a draw and are going to play as they did against Man City a week ago: sit deep and be defensively solid, press in midfield and look to exploit counter-attacks.

Key Stats

Arsenal have won 10 of their 13 PL matches this season (34 goals scored)

Arsenal scored 2+ goals in 13 of their last 16 home league matches

Arsenal are winless in 4 home matches vs Crystal Palace (DDDL)

Palace are winless in 11 EPL matches (3 defeats in a row)

Crystal Palace have failed to score in their last 4 matches

These sides have seen over 3.5 goals in 3 of their last 4 matches at the Emirates

Verdict

This match is a proper banana skin. Arsenal haven’t beaten Palace at home since 2018 and have had a very short turnaround time since playing in the Europa League. Crystal Palace nearly held Man City to a 0-0 last week and could really frustrate the Gunners here.

Best Bet: Arsenal win to zero at 1.86
Alternative Bet: Arsenal win and under 3.5 goals at 1.95
Value Bet: Draw HT/Arsenal FT at 4.05
Wildcard Bet: Draw HT/Arsenal FT + Under 2.5 goals at 7.25

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis