Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
Arsenal's testing festive schedule continues on Wednesday, when they take on a resurgent Crystal Palace side at Selhurst Park.
The Gunners were involved in a remarkable 3-3 draw with Liverpool last week, showcasing both attacking flair and defensive ineptitude. Manager Arsene Wenger will want to see a much more comprehensive performance from the players involved in south London.
That may be a big ask against a Crystal Palace team making major progress under Roy Hodgson, though. Having languished near the bottom of the Premier League table for a while, the Eagles now look too good to be involved in a relegation battle.
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Here's the key team news ahead of the contest, the viewing details for the game and a look ahead at what'll be a fascinating fixture.
Date: Thursday, December 28
Time: 8 p.m. (BST), 3 p.m. (ET)
TV Info: Sky Sports Main Event (U.K.), NBC Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go (U.K.), NBC Sports App (U.S.)
Team News
Crystal Palace: Hodgson will be able to welcome Christian Benteke back from suspension for this one. Connor Wickham and Chung-Yong Lee are both long-term absentees.
Likely XI: Julian Speroni; Martin Kelly, James Tomkins, Scott Dann, Jeffrey Schlupp; Andros Townsend, Yohan Cabaye, Luka Milivojevic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek; Wilfried Zaha, Christian Benteke.
Arsenal: The Gunners are set to be without Aaron Ramsey once again, meaning Jack Wilshere may continue in midfield. Wenger also has a big decision to make at left-back between Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac. Santi Cazorla remains sidelined.
Likely XI: Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac; Jack Wilshere, Granit Xhaka; Danny Welbeck, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Alexandre Lacazette
Preview
Arsenal were involved in one of the games of the season on Friday, as they shared six goals with a vibrant Liverpool side.
It's a match that would've left Wenger with some contrasting thoughts afterwards. The Gunners, after all, had been two goals down at one point, before a devastating five minutes saw them net three times to turn the match around. Liverpool then equalised to make it three apiece.
In the end, as noted by football writer James McNicholas, you sense Arsenal would've been content with a point:
At Palace they will surely be after all three. Amid a cluttered part of the campaign Wenger will be calling on his big names to make a difference here.
Ozil is the man who's been starring as of late. The German playmaker has found a brilliant spell of form in recent weeks and was at the heart of Arsenal's comeback against Liverpool, grabbing the third goal of the game.
While there is a lot of speculation as to whether Ozil will be at the Gunners beyond the campaign with his contract up in June, it's tough to question his application at the moment. The Gunnerpunner Twitter account was full of praise for the club's No. 11:
Against a Palace side who have been defensively sound, the likes of Ozil, Sanchez and Lacazette will need to be at full throttle.
The Eagles have found their flow under Hodgson and have pulled away from the relegation zone after occupying 20th position for much of the season. They'll be confident of causing Arsenal some issues here, with the pace of Zaha and power of Benteke almost tailor-made to get at the Gunners back four.
It's a huge challenge for Arsenal. As we can see courtesy of the BBC Match of the Day Twitter account, Palace are proving a tough nut to crack:
Despite being the home side, expect Palace to surrender possession, allow Arsenal to roam forward and sit deep. However, when they do win the ball back, in Zaha and Townsend the Eagles boast the speed needed to turn their opponents around.
Both sides should have joy in the final third and each will enjoy a spell in the match where they feel capable of winning the game. In the end, the points will be shared in an entertaining tussle.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal
