The live television cameras make their first appearance of the year at Selhurst Park for what has been a fixture full goals in recent seasons and there is nothing to suggest this one will be any different.
DATE
11th January 2020
KICK OFF
12.30pm
VENUE
Selhurst Park Stadium, Holmesdale Road, Selhurst, London SE25 6PU
LAST TIME
The last time these two sides met at Selhurst Park was October 2018. Luka Milivojevic put Palace ahead from the penalty spot but the Gunners fought back to take the lead early in the second half thanks to Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. A second spot kick from Milivojevic in the last ten minutes ensure the Eagles took a point from the game.
OFFICIALS
REFEREE – Paul Tierney
ASSISTANTS – Ian Hussin, Marc Perry, Keith Stroud (fourth official)
VAR – Craig Pawson, Andy Halliday (assistant)
INJURIES
PALACE – Mamadou Sakho, Joel Ward, Jeffrey Schlupp, Scott Dann, Andros Townsend, Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke, Max Meyer, Jairo Riedewald, Victor Camarasa, Patrick van Aanholt
ARSENAL – Calum Chambers, Kieran Tierney, Hector Bellerin
SUSPENSIONS
Luka Milivojevic
DISCIPLINE
Red cards – Mamadou Sakho (1), Luka Milivojevic (1), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (1)
Yellow cards (4+) – Luka Milivojevic (8), Calum Chambers (5), Matteo Guendouzi (5), Sokratis (5), Alexandre Lacazette (4), David Luiz (4), Granit Xhaka (4)
FORM GUIDE
Last FIVE meetings between the two sides;
- 27/10/2019 Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace
- 21/04/2019 Arsenal 2-3 Crystal Palace
- 28/10/2018 Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal
- 20/01/2018 Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace
- 28/12/2017 Crystal Palace 2-3 Arsenal
Last FIVE results for Palace;
- 05/01/2020 Crystal Palace 0-1 Derby County
- 01/01/2020 Norwich City 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 28/12/2019 Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace
- 26/12/2019 Crystal Palace 2-1 West Ham United
- 21/12/2019 Newcastle United 1-0 Crystal Palace
Last FIVE results for Arsenal;
- 06/01/2020 Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United
- 01/01/2020 Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United
- 29/12/2019 Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
- 26/12/2019 Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal
- 21/12/2019 Everton 0-0 Arsenal
RECORD AGAINST ARSENAL
- Played 46
- Won 5
- Drawn 13
- Lost 28
FORM PLAYERS
Top two rated players from each team so far this season according to Who Scored;
- Wilfried Zaha 7.18
- Nicolas Pepe 7.16
- Jordan Ayew 6.96
- Alexandre Lacazette 6.95
ONE TO WATCH
MESUT OZIL
Former clubs – Westfalia 04 Gelsenkirchen, Teutonia Schalke-Nord, Falke Gelsenkirchen, Rot-Weiss Essen, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid
The German international has had plenty of stick in recent seasons and not many could have blamed him for heading off for pastures news. But no, he has stuck around and under Mikel Arteta, he looks to be playing with some freedom which has seen signs of the Ozil of old. This is of course great news for the Gunners, not so much for the opposition and the Eagles will need to try and prevent him from running the midfield.
KEY CLASH
GARY CAHILL v ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE
It was a pleasant surprise to see Cahill back in the Palace line up for the cup exit last weekend. His form before being struck down with injury more than proved that he was worth signing and seeing him partner the in form James Tomkins will only strengthen the Palace defence. He will be up against a talented French international striker who will be keen on adding to his five goal tally for the season.
PRE-GAME STATS
- Top passers – Matteo Guendouzi (1,008), Luka Milivojevic (996)
- Palace have scored at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 matches against Arsenal in all competitions
- Top scorers – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (13), Jordan Ayew (5)
- In the last 5 meetings between the two sides 4 or more goals have been scored in each game
- Top assists – Nicolas Pepe (3)
- Top tackles – James McArthur (45), Luka Milivojevic (43)
PREDICTION
Tough one this in view of the Palace injury list and more to the point, it will be interesting to see how they do without captain Luka Milivojevic who begins his three match ban. In contrast, Arsenal are showing signs of finding their feet under new boss Arteta but for that reason it is difficult to know just what to expect from them. Both sides may well be happy with a share of the points.
Final score: 1-1 (Cahill)
OPPOSITION VIEW
Ahead of the visit of Arsenal, we had a chat with Nathan from The Short Fuse to find out about the season so far, thoughts on the game and much more.
BETTING ODDS
- Home – 3/1
- Draw – 11/4
- Away – 5/6
- Both teams to score – 13/20
