Arsenal – Crystal Palace

Arsenal will face Crystal Palace in the 24th round of the Premier League, with the Gunners badly needing a win against their in form visitors.

Arsenal is going through a serious slump right now, failing to win any of their last 5 games in all competitions, and coming after an ugly 1-2 loss at Bournemouth last weekend. The hosts are now 8 points behind the top 4 places and a win against Palace is mandatory. Despite the recent poor form, Arsenal will draw confidence from the fact that they have been very good at home all season.

Crystal Palace has completely turned the tides since Roy Hodgson took over back in September, and the visitors have climbed from the last place in the Premier League to the 12th position. Palace had a very nice undefeated run in December, which was actually ended by Arsenal three days before the New Year. Since that game, Palace has 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in all competitions.

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Team news & lineups:

Cazorla, Giroud and Sanchez are out for Arsenal, but there are good news for Wenger, with key players expected to return. Maitland-Niles, Ozil, Koscielny, Ramsey, Kolasinac and Monreal are all doubtful after missing games lately, but all of them have a chance to play. As for Crystal Palace, they will be without Wickham, Sakho, Dann, Schlupp, Loftus-Cheek and Puncheon, while Townsend and Cabaye are minor doubts.

Arsenal: Cech – Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal – Bellerin, Xhaka, Wilshere, Kolasinac – Ozil, Iwobi – Lacazette

Crystal Palace: Speroni – Ward, Kelly, Tomkins, Aanholt – McArthur, Cabaye, Milivojevic, Zaha – Sako, Benteke

Arsenal’s recent struggles and Palace’s good form have inflated the odds on the Gunners big time here. Normally Arsenal would be a 1.25 favorite in such a match, but they now have odds as high as 1.50 to win. I reckon that is a good price to take.

For all of Arsenal’s problems, they have been a force at home this season, posting an 8-2-1 record in the Premier League. Arsenal’s issues have come away from home, which was also the case during the recent 5 game winless streak – as 4 of those matches were on the road.

Returning to the Emirates and facing a must win game, chances are Arsenal will be able to bounce back and claim the three points. The potential returns of Koscielny, Kolasinac, Ozil or Monreal (among others) would also represent a massive boost for the Gunners, who had to field weakened lineups in recent weeks.

Another thing to consider is Wenger’s excellent record over Roy Hodgson, with the Frenchman winning 8 of their 13 H2H meetings. The last win was no more than three weeks ago, when Arsenal beat Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park to end an 8 match undefeated run for Hodgson`s men.

Palace is playing well under Hodgson and is in good form, but facing a desperate Arsenal side on the road might be too much of a challenge – especially with the Gunners getting players back from injury. I reckon the proper circumstances are in place for Arsenal to get a bounce back win here, and the odds for the straight victory are well worth a bet.

My tip is Arsenal to win. Prediction: Arsenal – Crystal Palace 2-0.

Pick: Arsenal
Odds: 1.50 @ Unibet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 4
Event date: 20 January