Arsenal notched up a clinical win by 0-1 against Napoli to advance to the semi-final of the Europa League. They will look to carry their winning form from the European competition to the domestic stage when they take on Crystal Palace in their next match in the Premier League in their own backyard.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, endured a disappointing loss at the hands of the reigning champions Manchester City in their last match in the Premier League and would look to make amends against the North London side.
Team News
Arsenal have several injury worries in their side. Apart from Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck (who are set to miss the rest of the season); Aaron Ramsey might miss the encounter against Palace. Denis Suarez might also be assessed to check his fitness ahead of the next game. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who is serving a suspension until 24th April, will also not play any part.
Goalkeeper
Bernd Leno got some well-deserved rest in the match against Napoli and will start in the goal against the Eagles.
Defence
In the absence of Sokratis, the onus will be on Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal to guard the heart of the backline. Koscielny and Monreal had a great outing against Napoli in both the legs and would look to carry their form into the next match as well.
Midfield
Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles did well as the left and right wing-backs against Napoli and would put in a shift in the same positions once again when Arsenal take on Crystal Palace. Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira are expected to start in midfield after their solid outing against the Serie A giants.
In the absence of Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected to start in the attacking midfielder role right behind the two strikers. Mesut Ozil might very well come on during the last 30 minutes as we suspect that he could be rested for next midweek’s game against Wolves.
Attack
Alexandre Lacazette had an excellent outing against Napoli and also scored the only goal of the match with a well taken free kick. He would lead the line for the Gunners alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Predicted Formation: 3-4-1-2
