Arsenal welcome fellow Londoners Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium in Saturday’s early Premier League kick off.
The Gunners can join Manchester City on 43 points with a win here, as the chasing pack continue to try to put pressure on league leaders Liverpool. Following a poor run of form ahead of the January winter break, Arsenal come back to action here needing a win if their hopes of a long awaited league title are to remain intact.
While Crystal Palace are in no immediate relegation danger, they are only five points ahead of Luton, who occupy 18th place. They need to start adding to their points tally if they are to stave off any chances of being dragged into the increasingly interesting relegation battle.
Here, we’ll preview this all-London affair in the hopes we can provide you with some winning bets. Keep reading to find out more…
Good opportunity
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will view the next couple of fixtures as a good opportunity to collect points before their showdown with Liverpool in February. But they’ll need to focus on the here and now as Roy Hodgson’s men take the short trip north of the capital. The back to back defeats to West Ham and Fulham at the end of 2023 will still be fresh in the memories of Arsenal fans, so they shouldn’t get complacent as a win is not guaranteed.
Crystal Palace come to the Emirates with plenty to play and actually won their last Premier League outing against Brentford at the end of December. Their away form leaves plenty to be desired however, having only won three times on the road in the league so far this season. That will be a worry for Palace fans, who have only won one game at Arsenal since the mid-1990s.
Well rested
After lots was made of the amount of games being played by Premier League sides, Arsenal will have welcomed the January break. They’ve had two weeks to rest and prepare for this game and get some of those on the injury list fit to join the squad. All of that could leave them in a good position to attack the second half of the season and they look to challenge for the title.
Palace’s break was interrupted by a FA Cup replay against Everton at Goodison Park. After a hard-fought cup tie, the Eagles eventually succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the Merseyside club and it’s difficult to say whether that will have taken something out of Hodgson’s men. With only a few days to recover from that physical encounter, the visitors might find it difficult against the fresh, well rested Arsenal legs.
This fixture kick starts the return of the Premier League after the winter break and we can’t see past the hosts taking the points. Palace will put up a fight, as they always do, but Arsenal should prevail in the end.
Suggested bets
- Arsenal to Win & BTTS
- Martinelli & Olise Both to Score
- 3-1 Correct Score
