Preview: Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Posted Wednesday, December 18, 2024 by sportsmole.co.uk

The first match in an Arsenal-Crystal Palace double header, the two London rivals cross paths at the Emirates on Wednesday evening, when a place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup is at stake.

Only the Eagles emerged triumphant from their last Premier League battle, though, easing past M23 rivals Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 while the Gunners laboured to a goalless draw with Everton.

Another Premier League gameweek of Liverpool missing out on three points, and another gameweek of Arsenal failing to capitalise. After failing to make the most of the leaders' Merseyside derby being postponed two weekends ago, Mikel Arteta's men had no answer to the defensive might of the Reds' bitter rivals.

Thanks in no small part to an inspired display from Jordan Pickford in between the posts, a well-rested Everton left the Emirates with a point to their name after executing their game plan to perfection; frustrate the Gunners to no end while offering sweet little in the final third.

While the gap to Liverpool in the Premier League table is still only six points, it will be nine if the leaders eventually win their game in hand, and head coach Arteta is now coming in for renewed criticism after another alarming attacking display from his hitherto merciless men.

Gluts of goals have not been hard to come by versus lower-league opposition in the EFL Cup so far, though, as the Gunners crushed Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in round three before seeing off Preston North End 3-0 in October, where Ethan Nwaneri's stunner was the pick of the bunch.

The quarter-finals have been something of a bogey stage in EFL Cup tournaments gone by for Arsenal, though, as the hosts have been eliminated from seven of their last 10 appearances at this stage of the competition and have now gone 31 years without lifting the season's first piece of silverware.

As modest as Arsenal's recent history in the EFL Cup is, Crystal Palace would match their best-ever result in the competition should they conquer Arteta's men at the Emirates on Wednesday; semi-final appearances in 1995, 2001 and 2012 remain their deepest runs in the League Cup.

Unlike the Gunners, though, the Eagles have had to navigate their way past a top-flight opponent to make it to the quarter-finals, stunning Unai Emery's Aston Villa 2-1 in the West Midlands in round four after previously eliminating Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.

Confidence may have diminished in the hosts' ranks recently, but Crystal Palace have the biggest spring in their step ahead of Wednesday's derby, having deservedly slain fierce rivals Brighton 3-1 in Sunday's Premier League 'derby' thanks to an Ismaila Sarr masterclass.

The 15th-placed Eagles are nowhere near out of the woods yet, but the Amex success made it five straight games without defeat in the Premier League, and they boast an identical unbeaten run on the road in all tournaments since October's loss to Nottingham Forest.

The quarter-final tie precedes a Premier League derby between Arsenal and Palace on Saturday, where the Gunners could beat the Eagles for the sixth time in a row if they book their semi-final ticket in midweek; each of the last four meetings between the clubs has been won by Arteta's side.

Many an eyebrow was raised when Arteta took both Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard off just past the hour mark on Saturday, but the Gunners boss confirmed that the former had asked to be substituted due to a niggle, so a midweek rest is likely.

Knee victims Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu will watch on helplessly from the Arsenal treatment room once again, while goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied, and doubts persist over the availability of Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko, neither of whom were fit to face Everton.

Fringe players such as Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior should all benefit from some inevitable rotation, and the time is surely nigh to give Kieran Tierney a run-out after back-to-back starts for Myles Lewis-Skelly, who could do with a break.

As for Crystal Palace, Daniel Munoz picking up his fifth Premier League booking of the weekend does not impact his availability for this one - he will serve his ban in the top flight instead - and Glasner might also be boosted by two returns.

Neither Joel Ward nor Adam Wharton were in the squad for the Brighton victory - the latter had a small setback following surgery - but the pair have not been ruled out of the quarter-final just yet, which is more than can be said for Chadi Riad (fitness) and Matheus Franca (groin).

Rob Holding - still frozen out for disciplinary reasons - will not meet his former team either, but two other ex-Gunners, Matt Turner and Eddie Nketiah, could be promoted to the first XI.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Nwaneri, Jorginho, Merino; Saka, Jesus, Sterling

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Turner; Guehi, Chalobah, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze; Nketiah

We say: Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace
Palace boss Glasner has not been afraid to put out his best XI in the EFL Cup with no European commitments to attend to, and a settled Eagles side can frustrate an Arsenal team whose toothless ways have returned.

However, the visitors still have a Premier League promotion scrap to prioritise, and even it is from one of their trusty set-pieces, we still back Arsenal to get the all-important goal required to book their semi-final ticket.