MY ACCOUNT
– Arsenal won their last home PL game 4-0
– Palace have not scored in their last four PL games and have no senior GK available
– Recommended Bet: Arsenal to win 4-0, 5-0 or 6-0 in Multi Bet
Arsenal can extend their lead at the top of the Premier League when they host managerless Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The Eagles announced they had parted company with Patrick Vieira on Friday in the wake of a 1-0 midweek defeat at Brighton that left them just three points clear of the relegation zone.
Palace sit at the bottom of the 12-game form table with no victory in the league since October and enter a crucial phase of the season with no fit senior goalkeeper currently available.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners will see this as a great chance to shake off the disappointment of their Europa League exit at the hands of Sporting Lisbon and gain further ground on title rivals Manchester City, who are involved in the FA Cup this weekend.
Team news
Arteta’s plans to revert back to the starting XI he fielded against Fulham last weekend have been dealt a blow by an injury to centre-back William Saliba.
The Frenchman left Thursday’s game with some discomfort, according to the Gunners boss, who sounded more concerned about full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The Japan international departed the stadium on crutches and could be out for some time while Gabriel Jesus also sustained a knock on his first start since the World Cup.
For the Eagles, Albert Sambi Lokonga will drop out of the team because of the terms of his loan deal from parent club Arsenal.
Will Hughes, who Vieira said would miss the Brighton game after not training earlier in the week, could come back into the squad.
Luka Milivojevic is another option to step back into a starting role in central midfield and there could be two spots available if Palace elect to take Chieck Doucoure out of the firing line.
The Mali international is on nine yellow cards and would incur a two-match ban if he was to collect another at Emirates Stadium, ruling him out of the upcoming six-pointers against Leicester and Leeds.
Teenage goalkeeper Joe Whitworth will keep his place between the posts after making a surprise debut on Wednesday because of injuries to Vicente Guaita and Sam Johnstone.
The stats
Pedro Goncalves’ 46-yard wonder strike on Thursday was the only home goal Arsenal conceded in the Europa League this season.
The Gunners have kept clean sheets in three of their last five Premier League games and scored at least three times in four of them.
Vieira led the Eagles to a 12th-placed finish in 2021-22 and earned praise for his side’s attacking style, but Palace have scored just 21 goals in 27 games this term with only Wolves, Everton and bottom-of-the-table Southampton registering fewer.
Before Wednesday’s defeat by Brighton, Palace had gone three consecutive games without a shot on target.
Prediction
It may have seemed more logical to make a call on the manager’s position after this game during the upcoming international break, but Palace are potentially sparing Vieira further embarrassment in this incredibly difficult fixture.
Arsenal will be desperate to erase the bitter memory of Thursday’s loss on penalties in the first-ever senior competitive shoot-out to be held at Emirates Stadium.
Arteta will restore his big guns that began on the bench in midweek to the starting line-up and Palace could quickly be swamped under a wave of attacking pressure.
The Gunners won their last home Premier League game 4-0 against a dogged Everton and this could finish with an even more emphatic scoreline in that they look to be facing a rudderless team.
Back Arsenal to win 4-0, 5-0 or 6-0 at 5/1 with LiveScore Bet.
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