Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: Preview and Prediction

Sunday 27th October 2019

England Premier League
Sunday 27th October 2019
Kick off at 4.30pm GMT
Venue: Emirates Stadium

Match Preview:

Arsenal are in 5^th place in the league but winning by the odd goal, some bad luck and they could easily be in the bottom half- the question: Are Arsenal in a false position?

Perhaps the level of the team was underlined when they lost to Sheffield United 1-0 last Monday. This was followed up by a Europa League game against Vitoria, where the Gunners found themselves 2-1 down with ten minutes left, but superbly came back to win 3-2 with two great goals from the struggling Nicolas Pepe who came on as a substitute. Has Pepe arrived? Have Arsenal?

There are many questions when it comes to Arsenal, and after 14 months Unai Emery has done a decent job, if not a startling one. The club are still poor away from home but solid at the Emirates just like under Arsene Wenger. It is perhaps games like these at home against a tricky opponent where Arsenal could be judged more.

This is a game too, given that Arsenal are 5^th and Crystal Palace are 6^th, a win for the Gunners would see them strengthen their hold on 5th place by the end of the weekend. They remain unbeaten at home with 3 wins and a draw, but they have not been truly tested yet.

Crystal Palace are in a great position and losing 2-0 against Manchester City should not have affected the Eagles confidence who have otherwise been in steady form. They recently came to London and beat West Ham 2-1 and their away form in general is decent with a win rate of 50%. Still they did lose 4-0 to Arsenal’s great rivals Tottenham a few weeks back.

Team News:

Arsenal: The Gunners have no new injuries coming into this game

Crystal Palace: Martin Kelly has a groin injury but he will be assessed late on to see if he can make this game. Connor Wickham looks set to miss yet another week due to a lack of match fitness

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Head to Head:

Last season Crystal Palace won this fixture 3-2.

There are goals in this fixture which has seen 19 in the past four meetings.

Arsenal have beaten Crystal Palace 6 times from the last 10 meetings.

Arsenal have not beaten Crystal Palace for almost two years

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Prediction:

Arsenal should be strong but they will have to be at 110% to win this match. We think they will and should have enough at home to do so against Palace who are chalking up points nicely but not beating the quality teams. Arsenal are just about backable especially if you are thinking about adding them to a list. It is tempting to back Pepe now to score a goal- which would only be his 2^nd in the league, surely Thursday night has given the former Lille player a lot of confidence, it will be interesting to see how he reacts. We will also back goals in this game and go with history. A big test here for Arsenal, but they should have enough on the pitch.

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Betting Tips:

Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace at 1.50

Anytime goalscorer: Nicolas Pepe at 2.25

Over 3.5 goals at 2.25