Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: Preview & Prediction

Sunday 19th March 2023

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: Preview & Prediction

England Premier League
Sunday 19th March 2023
Kick off at 2pm GMT
Venue: Emirates Stadium

Match Preview:

Patrick Vieira was supposed to bring his Crystal Palace side to his former club Arsenal and as an Arsenal legend would have been afforded a warm reception from the home fans. That won’t be happening now as Vieira was sacked on Friday morning on his way to training. Some will argue that it was uncalled for given that he hardly had the biggest budget to work with, although Palace were taking steps backwards and look unlikely to reach 48 points, which he achieved last season. What is damning is Palace’s form and if we look back at the last 10 games then his side would rank bottom of the league having won just 5 points from 30 in that time they have scored just 4 goals. Recent form is poor and the Eagles fly into this game having lost their last 3.

This is a huge game for Arsenal and could well set up their league title. Manchester City do not play this weekend and then it is the international break. It means that Arsenal could go 8 points clear with victory and from a psychological stand point that is a huge gap. When City return they must play Liverpool and it is a game that if the Reds turn up they could make life difficult, drop any points in that game and Arsenal would look set to win the title. This is why if Arsenal win here witness the party scene at the full time whistle. With 66 points Arsenal lead Manchester City by five points and have won 5 games in a row. Last weekend they flattened Fulham 3-0 away from home and in their last home game they beat Bournemouth 3-2 finding a last minute winner in spectacular scenes. The Gunners have won 10 games from 13 played at home and have the 2nd best home record in the league, with 34 goals scored at home only Manchester City have more.

Arsenal did face heartache in midweek as they were knocked out of the Europa League on penalties to Sporting after drawing 1-1 at home with the aggregate score at 3-3. However the feeling is that they can now concentrate on the league title and compared to other seasons this hasn’t seemed to have hit the club too hard.

 

Team News:

Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah has been ruled out until after the international break with his ankle. William Saliba will be assessed due to a slight muscle injury at this time it isn’t thought to be serious. Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss out again due to recovering from a knee injury.

Crystal Palace: Vicente Guaita has a slight hamstring injury and could miss out, he is only 50/50 to recover. Will Hughes will be assessed due to illness, Sam Johnstone remains sidelined due to a calf injury and is out for at least the next two weeks. James McArthur is ill and will be assessed, Nathan Ferguson looks set to miss out again due to fitness issues and Albert Sambi Lokonga cannot face his parent club.

 

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:

Last season this fixture ended 2-2.

Since 1994 Crystal Palace have only beaten Arsenal twice when away from home, the most recent was time was in 2019.

5 of the last 10 meetings have finished in a draw.

There is a 60% chance to see over 3.5 goals.

 

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Prediction:

Arsenal will be the odds on favourites but they should be expected to be even more favourites as Palace visit here with no permanent manager. Welcome then Paddy McCarthy who will act as interim manager, the 39 year old has no first team coaching experience but has been with Palace for the past seven years.

The only worry with Arsenal is how they have let some teams enjoy too much possession and chances of late, Bournemouth is a good example of that and on another day the Gunners would have dropped two points, sometimes despite their obvious talent they have to come from behind in games and you wonder if one day that will catch up to them? No one will be expecting anything than 3 points for Mikel Arteta’s side on Sunday though and they should ease to a win. Because Arsenal are such odds on a good market to look into would be the handicap one and we also expect this game to have plenty of goals too, don’t rule out Palace getting at least one. The bottom line is that this game represents a huge chance for Arsenal to gain an 8 point advantage and surely they will take it.

 

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:

Handicap: Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace with a -1 goal start at 1.72

Anytime goalscorer: Gabriel Jesus at 2.20

Over 2.5 goals at 1.66

 

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