Crystal Palace vs Arsenal preview, team news, tickets and prediction

Arsenal will be looking to make it two wins from two games when they take on London rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

The Gunners kicked-off the 2023/24 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium last weekend. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring after being teed-up by an excellent piece of skill from Gabriel Martinelli midway through the first half. Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 with a stunning strike from the edge of the box as a dominant Arsenal side looked set to secure a comfortable victory.

However, Mikel Arteta’s men failed to push on and turn their possession into more goals, and Forest pulled one back via Taiwo Awoniyi in the 82nd minute ensuring it was a nervy finish in north London. Arsenal held on to secure the win but Arteta has told his side they need to be far more ruthless in future or they risk throwing away valuable points.

Arsenal now play their first away game of the new season and they’ll be looking to continue their excellent form on the road from last campaign. The Gunners picked up 39 points on their travels – the best tally in the league – and kept 10 clean sheets away from home, so Arteta will want to replicate that away form this season.

Arsenal won this fixture 2-0 last season but it could be a much tougher test this time around now that Roy Hodgson is in charge at Selhurst Park having successfully saved Palace from relegation last year.

The Eagles won their opening fixture with a narrow 1-0 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane last weekend. Palace were without influential duo Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise for the game but still deserved the three points thanks to Odsonne Edouard’s close-range finish.

Since Hodgson arrived as manager, Palace have turned Selhurst Park into a fortress again having collected 11 points from 15 available during their final five home games of last season. That run included positive results against Liverpool and Manchester United so Arsenal shouldn’t be taking this task too lightly.

Team news

Arsenal suffered a devastating blow last weekend as summer signing Jurrien Timber was forced off with a serious knee injury. Tests have confirmed the Dutchman has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and he’s now facing at least six months on the sidelines. The news will be a huge blow to Arteta as Timber had made an excellent start to life at Arsenal and the defender will be sorely missed.

Oleksandr Zinchenko missed the win over Forest as he continued to work his way back to full fitness from a calf injury but he returned to action during a friendly win over Luton in midweek. The Ukrainian international will be assessed before a decision is made over his availability to face Palace on Monday night but Arteta will hope he’s ready to return at left-back now that Timber is unavailable.

Gabriel Jesus is still missing as the Brazilian international is recovering from a knee injury that he sustained in pre-season. Nketiah is expected to continue up front after scoring against Forest last time out – although Leandro Trossard is pushing for a recall after making a solid impact off the bench.

Folarin Balogun isn’t expected to be involved in the squad as Arsenal continue to negotiate a possible sale while the same can be said of Albert Sambi Lokonga. Kieran Tierney wasn’t involved in the squad against Forest amid question marks surrounding his future in North London, but the Scottish international may be recalled following Timber’s injury.

David Raya completed his loan move to Arsenal from Brentford and he’s set to be included in the squad. Aaron Ramsdale should keep hold of the No.1 shirt but it will be interesting to see who Arteta picks as his long-term first choice goalkeeper this season.

As for Palace, Olise is still missing due to a thigh injury that’s kept him out recently. Summer signing Matheus Franca is also still out with a back injury while Will Hughes is overcoming a knee injury that he sustained in pre-season.

However, there is better news for Hodgson regarding the fitness of key defender Marc Guehi. The centre-back was forced off against Sheffield United sparking fears he’d picked up a knock. But it turned out to be cramp and Guehi is available for selection on Monday night.

Likely line-ups

Ramsdale should once again get the nod in goal but we could see some changes in defence and midfield for Arsenal. Thomas Partey may move into midfield after featuring at right-back against Forest which would see Ben White returning to the flank. Gabriel could be recalled alongside William Saliba while Zinchenko could come in for Timber at left-back if he proves his fitness.

If Partey and Declan Rice both start in midfield along with skipper Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz could be the man to make way after an underwhelming debut last time out. Saka and Martinelli should keep their places in support of Nketiah in attack. That means Trossard, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira settle for places among the substitutes again.

Palace: Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Doucoure, Lerma; Ayew, Eze, Schlupp; Edouard

Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Tickets

Arsenal have sold out their away allocation for the game via official channels but you can still buy tickets on reputable ticket reselling site Seatsnet. Crystal Palace are also expected to sell out their home allocation so we should have a packed house at Selhurst Park for this big game.

Thousands of fans will miss out on tickets for the game but the good news is they can still watch all the action live as the match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, at 8pm on Monday night.

Prediction

Palace is usually a tough place to go and the fans will make it a lively atmosphere under the lights on a Monday night. Hodgson’s team have the potential to cause problems Eberechi Eze was in good form last weekend against Sheffield United.

However, Arsenal proved last season that they are a top team and were excellent on the road. The Gunners also picked up 10 wins from their 12 London derbies last season, including a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park, and we can envisage a similar result on Monday.

As long as Arsenal keep things tight at the back and don’t give away any silly goals, they should have too much firepower in attack. Saka, Martinelli and Nketiah all looked sharp against Forest and the young trio will be confident of putting Palace to the sword. Palace 0-2 Arsenal