It always feels like such a long time after that very last whistle is blown to end a season until the very first of a new campaign, but hot on the heels of an England side winning an international title this summer, football in our little corner of South London is about to return!
DATE
5th August 2022
VENUE
Selhurst Park, Holmesdale Road, London SE25 6PU
KICK OFF
8pm
PREVIOUS MEETING
The last time the two sides met at Selhurst Park was back in April. The Eagles got off to a flyer with Jean-Philippe Mateta netting on 16 minutes before Jordan Ayew doubled the lead just 8 minutes later. The visitors simply could not find a way back into the game before Wilfired Zaha sealed all three points from the spot with 16 minutes left to play.
WHO SCORED MAN OF THE MATCH – Wilfried Zaha (8.1)
OFFICIALS
- Referee: Anthony Taylor
- Assistants: Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn
- Fourth official:Peter Bankes
- VAR:Darren England
- Assistant VAR: James Mainwaring.
TEAM NEWS
PALACE – Sam Johnstone does not expect to be available until later this month due to a muscle strain. Jack Butland is out for a while after suffering a broken finger on tour. James McArthur and Michael Olise are both doubts, with the latter missing all of pre-season.
ARSENAL – Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Ferreira Vieira, Keiran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all injury doubts
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 04/04/22 Palace 3-0 Arsenal
- 18/10/21 Arsenal 2-2 Palace
- 19/05/21 Palace 1-3 Arsenal
- 14/01/21 Arsenal 0-0 Palace
- 11/01/20 Palace 1-1 Arsenal
Last FIVE results for Palace:
- 30/07/22 Palace 4-2 Montpellier
- 23/07/22 QPR 0-3 Palace
- 22/07/22 Palace 1-1 Leeds
- 19/07/22 Gillingham 2-3 Palace
- 19/07/22 United 3-1 Palace
Last FIVE results for Arsenal;
- 30/07/22 Arsenal 6-0 Sevilla
- 24/07/22 Arsenal 4-0 Chelsea
- 21/07/22 Orlando 1-3 Arsenal
- 17/07/22 Everton 0-2 Arsenal
- 08/07/22 Nurnberg 3-5 Arsenal
RECORD AGAINST ARSENAL
- Played 51
- Won 6
- Drawn 16
- Lost 29
ONE TO WATCH
GABRIEL JESUS
FORMER CLUBS – Arhanguera, Palmeiras, Manchester City
The new £45 million pound signing for the Gunners is arguably exactly what they needed – an exciting number nine to lead the line and given the right service, will score goals for them. It will be intriguing to see how he acclimatises to his new surroundings.
KEY CLASH
MARC GUEHI v GABRIEL JESUS
The new Arsenal striker will be keen to get off to a good start but he will be up against the newly capped centre back for England, which should promise to be a decent battle under the lights at Selhurst.
PRE-MATCH FACTS
Palace have lost just 1 of their past 8 league games against Arsenal (W2 D5). The Eagles are looking to win consecutive league games against the Gunners for the first time in their history.
Arsenal have lost their opening league match in 5 of their past 9 seasons (W4) after losing their first match in just one of their 19 campaigns prior to this run. The Gunners lost 2-0 to Brentford last term.
Palace have won their opening top-flight league match in only 5 of their previous 22 seasons (D7 L10).
Gabriel Magalhaes is the only current Arsenal player to have scored for the club in their Premier League opener, netting on his debut at Fulham in 2020-21.
DID YOU KNOW?
The first name for the team was Dial Square, which later changed to Royal Arsenal, before becoming Woolwich Arsenal when they turned professional in 1891. The first colours worn by the original Dial Square team was Redcurrant shirts, white shorts and blue socks, donated to the club from Nottingham Forest.
PREDICTION
It is always difficult to predict at the beginning of the season, let alone the opening game of the season in full view of everyone. Having said that, the two sides look well matched and it will be interesting to see how new signings settle if of course they feature. Both clubs will probably take a point before kick-off, and that is how we see it ending.
FINAL SCORE: 1-1
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 10/3
- Draw – 13/5
- Away – 4/5
- Both teams to score – 4/5
RESOURCES
