Crystal Palace suffered what was only their third defeat of the campaign so far when they stumbled against Premier League champions Manchester City. Despite this, Roy Hodgson and his men will certainly have their tails up when they travel to North London to take on a stumbling Arsenal side at the Emirates Stadium.
The Eagles currently sit 6th in the league, just a point behind the Gunners, who are in 5th place. With nine games of the season already behind us, Crystal Palace fans will be feeling extremely ambitious about their chances of qualifying for Europe this term. The Eagles have only conceded ten goals so far this season – a stat that is certain to worry Unai Emery in the days to come.
The Gunners, on the other hand, are going through a fairly miserable run of fixtures. Although record signing Nicolas Pepe saved them in the Europa League by scoring two spectacular free-kicks, their Premier League form has been quite poor. With only one win in three, the Gunners will be hoping to keep themselves in the race for the top four.
Team News
The groin injury to Spanish shot-stopper Vicente Guaita has been a pretty big blow to this Crystal Palace side. Despite his timely recovery, he is expected to be rested for one more fixture, before being tossed back into the fold. Connor Wickham’s knock should mean that he isn’t ready to be back in time for this tie, while long-term absentee Mamadou Sakho is on the verge of a return too.
Martin Kelly is another player who could be in contention, but most probably won’t be risked. With James Tomkins now back in the team as well, the Kelly injury won’t have too much of an effect.
Formation: 4-5-1
Defence
Wayne Hennessey’s place in the place is going to come under scrutiny once Guaita is fully match-fit. Although that isn’t too far away, expect the Welshman to keep his place for this fixture. Gary Cahill has been excellent for the Eagles since his move away from long-term employers Chelsea. His leadership and experience have done wonders for this Palace side and is precisely the kind of player that Roy Hodgson would want in the heart of his defence.
With Kelly now suffering from a knock, Tomkins is effectively guaranteed a start at the Emirates. Joel Ward and Patrick Van Aanholt are expected to retain their places on either full-back position as well.
Midfield
One of Roy Hodgson’s biggest strengths is his ability to take over a football match, by merely crowding out the midfield area. Going by this theory, Palace usually operate with five across midfield, with the two wingers playing an extremely balanced role between defence and attack. Wilfried Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp have been his preferred wide-duo this term – both pacy dribblers who can pick a pass or beat a man.
Palace’s midfield commander is Serbian international Luka Milivojević, who has grown into a real stalwart at the club, since joining from Olympiacos in 2017. He is partnered on either side by the creative-thinking James McArthur and the rather destructive Cheikhou Kouyaté. The midfield trio boasts an excellent balance of attributes between them, giving Roy Hodgson a lot of versatility with his forward play as well.
Attack
Despite the presence of Belgian international Christian Benteke in the Eagles’ roster, the manager has favoured using Jordan Ayew in the lone striker’s role so far this season. A Ghanaian veteran of over fifty international caps, the forward has already scored three goals this season, more than any other Palace player, making him extremely deserving of his place in the starting lineup.
