Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Arsenal play host to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on New Year's Day hoping a win over the Eagles will see them begin 2017 in a positive run of form.

Palace manager Sam Allardyce will take charge of his side for just the second time following Alan Pardew's dismissal from the helm, while Gunners counterpart Arsene Wenger returns to familiar territory in the London derby.

Palace have beaten Arsenal just once in their Premier League history, but it's been more than 22 years since they sealed a 2-1 win at Highbury, and Allardyce faces a stiff task in replicating that result on Sunday.

That being said, the north Londoners only just about edged West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Boxing Day to end their spin of two successive losses, meaning Palace may fancy their chances for the first time in a while at the Emirates Stadium.

Read on for all the latest team news surrounding Sunday's north London encounter, complete with a match preview and all the viewing information necessary to ensure you can tune into the action.

Date: Sunday, January 1

Time: 4 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET

Venue: Emirates Stadium, 

Live Stream: Sky Go app (UK), NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.)

TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK), NBCSN (U.S.)

Arsenal	Crystal Palace
Arsenal 1-0 West Bromwich Albion	Watford 1-1 Crystal Palace
Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal	Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
Everton 2-1 Arsenal	Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City	Hull City 3-3 Crystal Palace
Basel 1-4 Arsenal	Crystal Palace 3-0 Southampton

Team News

Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla remain among the long-term absentees for Arsenal this weekend, but there was positive news for Arsenal fans on Wednesday after it was reported that Danny Welbeck is back in training.

The striker has been missing since hurting his right knee in May, and ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery confirmed he was tuning up alongside Shkodran Mustafi, although Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were not present:

A start against Palace on Sunday may still be asking too much of both Mustafi and Welbeck, while Dinnery also confirmed left-back Kieran Gibbs "should be OK" following a blow to his knee. That being said, the injuries in midfield and attack could see Wenger name an unchanged XI from the side that beat West Brom.

Allardyce has inherited a lengthy injury list at Selhurst Park, too, and Dinnery added earlier in December that James Tomkins, Loic Remy, Bakary Sako and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda were all looking to return next month:

That being said, it's possible none of that quartet may feature at the Emirates, while Mark Ritson of the Croydon Advertiser reported Joe Ledley and James McArthur are in contention to return on New Year's Day.

Tomkins' absence is particularly damaging after Damien Delaney picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign against Watford. That means Martin Kelly may move to centre-back, while Joel Ward could switch to right-back. Ezekiel Fryers may start on the left.

The central midfield duo have been crucial to any Palace success this season but were sidelined for Monday's 1-1 draw at Watford, while Pape Souare and Connor Wickham remain long-term absentees and won't feature on Sunday.

Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny, Gabriel Paulista; Francis Coquelin, Granit Xhaka; Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud

Predicted Crystal Palace XI (4-2-3-1): Wayne Hennessey; Joel Ward, Ezekiel Fryers, Martin Kelly, Scott Dann; James McArthur, Yohan Cabaye; Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend, Jason Puncheon; Christian Benteke

Preview

JUSTIN TALLIS/Getty Images

Arsenal were pushed to the brink in their recent meeting with the Baggies, but an Olivier Giroud header saved the Gunners' blushes in the 86th minute, and not for the first time this season.

Some may be tempted to restore Alexis Sanchez as the club's leading man for the visit of Palace, but Giroud told the Press Association (h/t the Daily Mail) he's ready to fight for his place at the Emirates:

"

I came back a bit late from the Euros and it was nice for my body because I could rest but not good for me because the team was doing well and another striker was doing well up front. 

This season has been difficult because also I was injured for a month and a half so it hasn’t been easy. 

I don’t want to talk too much about me but it was a big day for me, but a turning point for the team because if we didn’t win we would have been in trouble.

[...]

Even more because it is my first start in the Premier League, it is a tough time for me but I’m very happy for the team because we really needed the win today.

"

Another frontman will have pressure on his shoulders this Sunday, too, as Christian Benteke looks to recover from the penalty he missed at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day in the hope he can happen upon a richer vein of form.

The 26-year-old has eight goals in 16 games this season but will be looking to improve that record further under Allardyce, an appointment Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Ian Wright both agreed was a good choice:

A 1-1 draw at Watford was a decent enough start for the new Palace chief, but an underdog's win in north London on New Year's Day would represent the start of a new beginning in almost poetic fashion.

Allardyce is hoping he's the man to turn the fortunes around at Selhurst Park, but it's on the opposite side of London that he'll seek a major statement on Sunday.