The opening game of 2017 sees the Eagles travel to North London on New Years Day to take on Arsenal in what will be the fourth live televised game in a row for Palace.
With Sam Allardyce rightly disappointed with the draw at Watford in his first game in charge of the Eagles, he will be hoping to begin the year as he means to go on by returning to South London with a point or three.
It will certainly be a difficult task as Arsenal will be keen to stay in touch with the teams at the top of the Premier League even though they have faltered a little of late.
Games between the two sides have often been tight affairs but the Gunners have won four of the last five meetings, three of them by the same 2-1 score line.
TEAM NEWS
CRYSTAL PALACE – James McArthur (knock) and Joe Ledley (knock) may face late fitness tests after missing the draw at Watford. James Tomkins (groin), Bakary Sako (muscle), Connor Wickham (knee), Loic Remy (calf), Steve Mandanda (knee), Jonathan Benteke (knee) and Pape Souare (leg) all continue to miss out.
ARSENAL – Kieran Gibbs (knee), Theo Walcott (calf), Mathieu Debuchy (hamstring), Santo Cazorla (plantaris) and Per Mertesacker (knee) are all expected to be unavailable while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring) is to face a late fitness test.
ACTION REPLAY
The two sides last met back in April at the Emirates and a goal for the hosts right after the half time interval looked to have set the Gunners on their way. However, the Eagles fought back and found an equaliser from Yannick Bolasie with just nine minutes left to play.
Who Scored Star Man – Danny Welbeck (7.9).
LISTEN TO MY CHAT WITH SHAUN CUSTIS AND IAN WRIGHT EARLIER THIS WEEK AHEAD OF THE TRIP TO ARSENAL FOR PALACE.
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 17/04/2016: Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 16/08/2015: Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
- 21/02/2015: Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
- 16/08/2014: Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace
- 02/02/2014: Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 26/12/2016: Watford 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 17/12/2016: Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
- 14/12/2016: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
- 10/12/2016: Hull City 3-3 Crystal Palace
- 03/12/2016: Crystal Palace 3-0 Southampton
Last FIVE results for Arsenal;
- 26/12/2016: Arsenal 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
- 18/12/2016: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal
- 13/12/2016: Everton 2-1 Arsenal
- 10/12/2016: Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City
- 06/12/2016: FC Basel 1893 1-4 Arsenal
FORM PLAYERS (courtesy of Who Scored)
Top two rated players from each team so far this season;
- Alexis Sanchez 7.89
- Wilfried Zaha 7.54
- Christian Benteke 7.45
- Laurent Koscielny 7.44
ONE TO WATCH
ALEX IWOBI
The 20 year old striker has already racked up 8 international appearances for Nigeria since coming through the ranks at Arsenal. Born in Lagos, Iwobi joined the North London club in 2004 and went on to make his professional debut in October 2015 against Sheffield Wednesday. To date he has made 27 appearances for Arsenal and scored three goals. He represented England a number of times at youth level but chose to represent Nigeria, making his debut in a friendly against DR Congo in October 2015.
PREDICTION
Final league position – 3rd
In a season where the big guns were never going to allow a outsider triumph like Leicester City did last season, the Gunners had put themselves in a good position until a few stumbles of late. With Chelsea looking in great form at the summit, they already look like taking some beating but there is plenty of football left to play. Arsenal will be in the mix but there is a big question as to whether they truly have the credentials to truly challenge for the title.
- TEB prediction – draw
- Mark Harrison’s prediction (see link below) – home win
- Who Scored prediction – home win
BETTING ODDS (courtesy of Paddy Power)
- Home – 1/3
- Draw – 4/1
- Away – 9/1
- Both teams to score – 8/11
FIND OUR WHAT ARSENAL FAN MARK HARRISON TOLD TEB THIS WEEK IN THE ARSENAL VIEW
