Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Matchup Odds & Preview
London Derby Between Gunners and Eagles
Arsenal in Midst of Rough Patch
Following a long layoff, Arsenal played their first Premier League match of 2024 on Saturday as they host Crystal Palace. The Gunners have won just one of their last seven matches, in all competitions, and are looking to stay in the title race. They’re currently five points behind leaders Liverpool and view Saturday’s match as a must-win. Meanwhile, Palace are just five points ahead of the relegation zone and will take all of the points they can. Ahead of this London Derby, we’ll check out the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace matchup odds.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Location: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Day/Time:
Head-to-Head:
On the second matchday of the season, Arsenal went to South London and came away with a 1-0 win. Martin Odegaard scored a penalty in the second half and a ten-man Arsenal, following a Takehiro Tomiyasu red card, held on for the win. Last season’s EPL results in this fixture were two Arsenal wins as they outscored CPFC by 6-1. Notably, three of the last four meetings at the Emirates Stadium have finished in draws. The Gunners have lost just one of their last nine matches vs. Crystal Palace.
Arsenal Desperately Need Victory
Arsenal stumbled into 2024 on a run of poor form and they’ve fallen behind in the title race. Mikel Arteta’s key players looked tired during the holiday fixture period and between the Premier League and Champions League, they’ve played quite a lot of minutes this season. Bukayo Saka has not been at his best over the last couple of months and not having a consistent backup for the right winger has appeared to hurt the Gunners. Plus, Arsenal doesn’t have a prolific striker that can change games on his own.
Gabriel Jesus is a terrific player but he’s admitted himself that finishing is not the best part of his game. Eddie Nketiah has scored five EPL goals but he’s inconsistent in front of goal and it’s been reported that Arsenal may consider offloading him this month. When the Gunners last played, they fell 2-0 at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup third round on January 7th. Arsenal have lost three matches in a row, in all competitions, and has won just one of their last seven. Arteta took his side to Dubai for a training camp given the two-week break and he’ll hope that his players come back rejuvenated.
Five points behind leaders Liverpool heading into Matchday 21, fourth-placed Arsenal show +750 EPL odds to win the title. While Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are away on international duty, Fabio Vieira and Jurrien Timber are out injured. Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Thomas Partey are all questionable for this match as well. Regardless, the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace matchup odds price the hosts as -305 favorites. Arsenal desperately need a win here to get their season back on track.
Crystal Palace Struggling for Goals
Crystal Palace last played a couple of weeks ago in the FA Cup vs. Everton. The match finished scoreless, even as Everton went down to ten men. Eberechi Eze put in a good performance for Palace in the match and the English midfielder is one to watch on Saturday. However, Palace does have to play Everton once again on Wednesday, in the FA Cup replay round. Roy Hodgson could rotate his squad a bit with the Arsenal match in mind.
Palace are currently in 14th place in the Premier League, with a 5-6-9 record. They did win their last EPL match, which was a 3-1 victory over Brentford. It was Palace’s first win in their last nine Premier League matches. Even though they’re just five points ahead of the relegation zone, the Premier League betting lines price Palace at +1200 odds to go down to the EFL Championship. Goals have been the issue for Palace this season, as only Burnley and Sheffield United have scored fewer times.
When healthy, Michael Olise has been Palace’s most prolific scorer. He’s averaged 0.66 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season and scored twice vs. Brentford. Overall, Odsonne Edouard leads Crystal Palace, with six EPL goals. For Saturday’s match, Jordan Ayew is away with Ghana and Cheick Doucoure is out for the season. Meanwhile, Joel Ward and Sam Johnstone are listed as doubtful. If Johnstone doesn’t play, expect Dean Henderson to fill in as Palace’s keeper once again.
Match Analysis & Odds
This is a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s season and nothing short of all three points is going to cut it. If they continue to drop points, they may find themselves in a top-four battle instead of the title race. With a few weeks off, Arteta will be hoping players like Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are well-rested and back to their best. Here, the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace matchup odds price the Gunners as -305 favorites.
Bettors can take Arsenal -1.5 at even odds as well, as Crystal Palace +1.5 sits at -120. Palace play on Wednesday night, which doesn’t leave them much time at all to recuperate for the early kickoff on Saturday. Fatigue could certainly be a factor and Roy Hodgson’s side are +775 underdogs for this match at the Emirates. In the Premier League era, Palace have won just twice at Arsenal.
A draw comes in at +440 odds and the visitors will certainly take one in this London Derby. Palace’s best bet in this match is to play a low block defensively and have an Arsenal team, that has struggled to score lately, try to break them down. It’s a formula that’s worked lately and it remains to be seen whether Arsenal’s finishing will improve. In their last two EPL matches, Arsenal have totaled 4.3 expected goals but scored just once. Here, both over and under 2.5, 3 goals come in at -110 odds.
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