Arsenal look to get their title race back on track in a London Derby against 14th-placed Crystal Palace. Here is a preview.
The Emirates Stadium sees its first Premier League action of 2024 when Crystal Palace makes the trip to North London to face a title-chasing Arsenal side. Both sides have enjoyed differing fortunes this season, but the year’s end has seen the Gunners falter as they lost ground on their rivals.
In the reverse fixture, Martin Odegaard’s second-half penalty was enough to beat Crystal Palace and record back-to-back wins to start the campaign. That result also took Arsenal’s unbeaten run against the Eagles to nine matches.
The Gunners came close to lifting the Premier League title in the 2022-23 season and they prepared for another assault on the league by recruiting smartly over the summer.
Their league campaign then started with a hard-fought 2-1 victory at home to Nottingham Forest, displaying the fighting spirit they would need all season.
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There were six wins and three draws from the next nine games as they stayed unbeaten in the league. However, a very controversial match at Newcastle brought about their first defeat as Anthony Gordon’s winning goal arguably should not have stood.
Despite that setback, Arsenal stayed resilient and determined as they churned out results against Burnley, Brentford and Wolves. The test of their concentration levels and mental strength was again on show when Declan Rice’s 97th-minute goal decided a 4-3 thriller at Luton Town.
A lone-goal defeat to Aston Villa was fatal to their hopes but the next league match saw them beat Brighton 2-0. The 1-1 draw at Liverpool was considered a good result given their previous record at Anfield. Still, Arsenal had a less-than-ideal end to 2023 with consecutive defeats to West Ham and Fulham which saw them slip down the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta must now pick his men up as they enter the vital part of the campaign. It is pertinent that they find a solution to their predictability and lack of quality options off the bench.
On the other hand, Palace have had mixed results all season as they struggled with injuries to their best players. Roy Hodgson returned to the Eagles’ dugout in March to deliver a positive end to last season but mitigating factors have made this an indifferent campaign.
Crystal Palace beat Sheffield United in the season’s opening game through Odsonne Edouard’s goal, but Arsenal got a slim victory at Selhurst Park on Matchday 2. A draw and a win against Brentford and Wolves set them off to a good start in the first four games.
Nevertheless, Aston Villa’s quickfire goals turned a defeat into a 3-1 win but Palace steadied the ship somewhat with three consecutive clean sheets in the following games which included scoreless draws at home to Fulham either side of a 1-0 win at Manchester United.
Palace only won one and drew three of their next 11 matches as the season threatened to descend into mediocrity. However, 2023 ended with Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze sealing a 3-1 win over Brentford.
Arsenal’s recent form suggests fans would be rallying around in support of the team so there is set to be a raucous atmosphere at the Emirates. The stadium should be packed to the brim and away fans would be making the short trip to roar their team.
Team news
Thomas Partey will surely miss the game after being left out of the Ghana squad for the Africa Cup of Nations due to his ongoing thigh injury, while Mohamed Elneny is with the Egypt squad.
Takehiro Tomiyasu was a surprise return from injury against Fulham and he will now be unavailable during the Asian Cup. Fabio Vieira has yet to return to training from groin surgery, and Jurrien Timber is slowly building his way back from an ACL injury.
Line-ups
There are few changes Arteta can make to his side, so he will likely go with the same team that played Fulham. Gabriel Jesus would otherwise hope to return to the starting line-up.
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Havertz, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
Olise’s latest setback and Ayew’s unavailability will cause a headache for Hodgson in the attack but Will Hughes could come into midfield to allow Eze to move upfront. Jeffrey Schlupp is another option to fill the other attacking role on the flank.
Crystal Palace: Henderson; Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Lerma, Richards, Hughes; Eze, Mateta, Schlupp
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