Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Predictions

• Arsenal have conceded in five of their last six home games, shipping nine goals in total.
• Crystal Palace will be looking to respond after Patrick Vieira’s sacking.#
• The Gunners were taken the full distance on Thursday as they lost on penalties to Sporting in the Europa League.

Palace begin life without Vieira

Crystal Palace made the surprise move to sack Patrick Vieira on Friday and their first fixture following the Frenchman’s departure couldn’t be more difficult, as they head to Vieira’s former club and current league leaders Arsenal.

The visitors are likely to have an interim manager in place for Sunday’s game but as yet they haven’t confirmed who will be in the hot seat but under-21 boss Paddy McCarthy looks the most likely candidate, as the majority of Vieira’s coaching team have also left aside from goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely.

The Eagles sit 12th in the table but are just three points clear of danger and they have been in woeful form. They have not won a match in 2023, and suffered a third successive defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by Brighton in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The Gunners boast an impressive home record and in normal circumstances a win for Mikel Arteta’s side would appear to be a formality. However, Vieira’s dismissal and the fact Arsenal were taken to penalties in the Europa League on Thursday, losing out to Sporting, does add an element of uncertainty.

Will we see a Palace reaction?

Arsenal are the heavy favourites to win and because of the variables mentioned above it is worth looking at other markets for this game, and the odds against price on both teams to score stands out.

The Gunners may be a little jaded after their midweek exertions and we should see some reaction from the Palace players, perhaps not enough to win the game but they can at least grab a goal.

The Eagles have failed to score in their last four games but they have faced Liverpool and Manchester City during that run, and they did create a few chances against Brighton – they actually had a better xG than their hosts – despite their failure to score.

Clean sheets have become a little hard to come by for Arsenal of late and at home they have just one shut-out in their last six games, conceding nine goals in total during that run, so a Palace side with a point to prove may well be able to get on the scoresheet at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal can respond to Europa exit

Arsenal may be a little deflated after their Europa League campaign came to an end but the Premier League is their priority and it is still hard to see them dropping points against the Eagles.

The Gunners have won their last five league games and have scored at least three goals in four of those, and exactly three twice, so a 3-1 win for the hosts looks a reasonable correct score prediction.

January buy Leandro Trossard is the man of the moment for Arsenal as the former Brighton man assisted all three goals in the recent 3-0 win over Fulham and has five assists in total in his last five games (three starts) across all competitions. The Belgian is a clear contender for an assist if you are putting a bet builder together for this game, while Gabriel Martinelli stands out as a possible scorer as he has five goals in his last five league appearances – taking his total to 12 goals in 27 Premier League games.

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