Arsenal will be desperate to put an end to a two-game losing streak in the Premier League when they host London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday (January 20).
This early (12:30 PM) kick-off is between two teams at different spectrums of the Premier League table and with different agendas. While the Gunners look to get back into the Premier League title race with a win, Roy Hodgson’s side are simply eager to move farther away from being dragged into a relegation battle.
With Mikel Arteta’s side eager to impress their fans with prolific, attacking football again, this should be an action-packed clash in which only the more clinical side will prevail.
Betting Odds
Of course, being the superior side, Arsenal are the bookmakers’ favourites to return to winning ways against the Eagles. Here is how the odds look like before the game.
Roy Hodgson side actually heads into this game against Arsenal with a slightly better record in their previous five Premier League fixtures, with the Gunners’ form significantly dropping after Christmas.
Arsenal: 4th
Loss: 2-1 vs Fulham
Loss: 2-0 vs West Ham United
Draw: 1-1 vs Liverpool
Win: 2-0 vs Brighton
Loss: 1-0 vs Aston Villa
Crystal Palace: 14th
Win: 3-1 vs Brentford
Loss: 2-1 vs Chelsea
Draw: 1-1 vs Brighton
Draw: 2-2 vs Manchester City
Loss: 2-1 vs Liverpool
Head-to-Head (last 5 Premier League meetings)
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (August 22, 2023)
Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace (March 19, 2023)
Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal (August 6, 2022)
Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal (April 5, 2022)
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (October 19, 2021)
Predicted Lineups
Arsenal still have a number of players on the sidelines de to long-term injuries. The likes of Jurrien Timber, Fabio Vieira and Thomas Partey are all ruled out for this game. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus could be in contention to return, while Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are out due to their international commitments.
Arsenal Predicted XI: David Raya, Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah
Crystal Palace are also dealing with their own injury problems. Cheick Doucoure is ruled out for the rest of the season, while Michael Olise is going to miss a few games due to an issue. Rob Holding, Joel Ward and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi are all out, while Jordan Ayew is playing in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Crystal Palace Predicted XI: Dean Henderson, Nathaniel Clyne, Chris Richards, Marc Guehi, Joachim Andersen, Tyrick Mitchell, Jeffrey Schlupp, Will Hughes, Jefferson Lerma, Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta
Where The Game Will Be Decided
Arsenal are desperate to get a big win to end their abysmal losing run and finally get their season back on track. This London derby is going to be decided in the Crystal Palace half for the majority of the game and be decided on a couple of factors.
Firstly, it’ll depend on whether the Gunners can finally put an end to their goal-scoring woes and finally convert their chances, after being unable to score a goal despite having over 35 shot attempts in their last two home games. Palace will take confidence from their opponents’ troubles in front of the goal and will mostly pack their backline with a lot of numbers.
They will then look to threaten on the counter-attack by dragging too many Arsenal players into their half and also try to cause trouble in set-pieces. Arsenal have to be clinical to put the Eagles to the sword and get a big win.
Betting Predictions
Arsenal might have struggled for goals at the Emirates Stadium of late, but they are averaging 2.2 goals in home games in the Premier League this season. They have also scored two or more goals against the Eagles in four of their last five meetings, so a gamble on the match having 2.5 goals or more can be a smart one.
⭐️ Bukayo Saka has won more Player of the Match awards (5) than any other Premier League player this season pic.twitter.com/NXFdscmn1a
The Gunners have also been prolific in set-pieces this season, especially from the corners. They have averaged 7.90 corners per game in the Premier League this season, more than any other team. At home, they have averaged 8.70 corners – so betting on them to get over 5 corners in a game they’re expected to dominate can fetch some decent returns.
Bukayo Saka has been one of Europe’s best young players this season, topping the scoring for Arsenal in the Premier League with six goals. He scored in the Gunners’ final game of 2023 and has been involved in 15 goals in the last 18 Premier League London derbies. The stage seems to be set for him to continue his scoring tricks against the Eagles.
With Michael Olise ruled out, a lot of pressure will be on Eberechi Eze to work his magic for Palace in the Arsenal half. Even though he’s started 11 league games this season, the Englishman has had 40 shots – more than any other teammate. So it’d be a smart gamble for him to get over 1 shot on target against an Arsenal side who have been unable to keep a clean sheets in their last five games.
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