🕟 Kick Off: 20:00 BST

📍 Location: Emirates Stadium, North London

📺 UK Broadcaster: Sky Sports

🙎🏻‍♂️ Referee: Michael Salisbury

🔴 Arsenal Team News:

• Jorginho is expected to miss this game with a rib injury.
• Gabriel is out for the season following hamstring surgery.
• Calafiori is absent after picking up a knee injury in the international break.
• Havertz is making good progress on his recovery and may return before the end of the season.
• Jesus is in recovery following surgery on a torn ACL.
• Tomiyasu is recovering from surgery on his knee and is expected to be out for the rest of the calendar year.

⚽ Arsenal Form: 🟩🟩🟧🟩🟧

🦅 Crystal Palace Team News:

• Chadi Riad is out for the season with a knee injury.
• Chris Richards is serving a suspension.
• Cheick Oumar Doucouré is absent with a knee injury.

⚽ Crystal Palace Form: 🟧🟥🟥🟩🟧

⚔️ Head-to-Head:

• Crystal Palace 1-5 Arsenal (21st Dec 2024, Premier League)
• Arsenal 3-2 Crystal Palace (18th Dec 2024, EFL Cup)
• Arsenal 5-0 Crystal Palace (20th Jan 2024, Premier League)
• Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal (21st Aug 2023, Premier League)
• Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace (19th Mar 2023, Premier League)

📖 Match Facts:

• The 1-5 battering of Palace by Arsenal in December was one of three times Arsenal have scored 5 goals in a league game this season.
• Crystal Palace haven’t beaten Arsenal since April 2022 in a game which saw Cedric and Tavares start at fullback for the Gunners.

🎲 Odds (Betway):

• Arsenal – 2/5
• Draw – 7/2
• Crystal Palace – 7/1

✍🏼 Pre-Match Ramblings

In Arsenal’s last game before facing PSG in the Semi Final of the Champions League they welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates in what is lining up to be a game of football. Palace lie in 12th place, safe from relegation, too far from Europe. Since coming back to the Premier League in 2013 they have established a foothold slap bang in the middle of the league, which nowadays is almost impossible for promoted clubs to achieve.

I expect a similar team as the one that battered Ipswich as we have a huge 6 days between this game and our Semi Final. Kiwior and Saliba should continue to grow their flourishing on field partnership, Rice will continue being the best midfielder in the world, Saka may not start given the attempted breaking of his ankle he faced against Ipswich, but I imagine he will see the grass at some point.

Arteta may be pondering what to do with the midfield given that Partey will miss the first leg of the Semi Final. Does he move Rice deeper and put Merino in at left 8? It’s probably the best option, and Merino looked excellent playing a bit deeper against Ipswich. Perhaps we could keep Rice in at left 8 and give MLS a go at the base of midfield? MLS has been so fantastic all over the pitch that I have no doubts that he could play there.