Crystal Palace vs Arsenal: Preview, predictions and lineups

Crystal Palace and Arsenal lock horns for the second time in three days when they clash at Selhurst Park on Saturday, this time in the Premier League.

The two sides fought in the Carabao Cup last eight on Wednesday evening, with Arsenal the hosts on that occasion as they progressed to the semi-finals. Gabriel Jesus’ hat-trick saw off the Eagles despite a late rally sparked by Eddie Nketiah’s goal against his former employers.

Arsenal will fancy of their chances of back-to-back victories over their south London foes, but their recent Premier League form has been far from ideal. Tame draws with Fulham and Everton have seen them lose ground on Chelsea and Liverpool, with victory against the Eagles not enough to usurp either in the table.

In contrast, Palace’s recent league form has been mightily impressive. They have clawed back some form after a disappointing start to the season and followed their respectable draw against reigning champions Manchester City with an excellent A23 derby day victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on the road.

Here is 90min’s guide to an all-London affair.

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal H2H Results (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Crystal Palace named pretty much their strongest XI midweek against Arsenal and are unlikely to make many changes from that side.

Daniel Munoz, who missed out in north London on Wednesday, is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the Premier League season at Brighton, but fellow defender Chadi Riad is closing in on a return after three months on the sidelines and could be part of the matchday squad on Saturday.

However, Adam Wharton and Matheus Franca are still absent further forward, with the former recently suffering a setback in his recovery from a groin injury that’s likely to see him miss the remainder of the calendar year.

Crystal Palace predicted lineup vs Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Henderson; Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi; Clyne, Doucoure, Hughes, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Mateta.

Arsenal have four injuries to their senior squad and all of them come in the full-back department. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both absent on the right-hand side of defence, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori are unavailable on the left.

Declan Rice was omitted from the Arsenal squad on Wednesday as he nursed a minor injury but the midfielder should be available on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta made sweeping changes to his starting lineup against Palace midweek but will revert to his preferred XI on Saturday. Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, Gabriel and Rice, fitness permitting, should all come back into the team.

Jesus provided a clinical hat-trick to decide Wednesday’s affair but may return to the bench with Kai Havertz favoured.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Crystal Palace (4-3-3): Raya; Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Merino, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.

Wednesday’s meeting between the sides was a goal-laden affair but both managers will be concerned by the openness of their teams at the Emirates, with steps likely to be put in place to make Saturday’s duel a tighter and more tactical battle.

It may be a game of comparatively fine margins, with Arsenal potentially prospering once more. The Gunners have been far from their attacking best in recent matches but boast superior quality in the final third, as well as a consistent threat from set pieces.

Prediction: Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal

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