Arsenal welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium for today’s crucial Premier League clash.
The Gunners suffered a shock exit to Sporting Lisbon in the round of 16 of the Europa League and they now have only one competition to concentrate on for the rest of the season.
Manager Mikel Arteta should revert to his familiar line-up after making several changes in midweek but he could be without the services of William Saliba with a back problem.
The club have a brilliant opportunity to go eight points clear at the top of the table with a win. Manchester City won’t be playing this weekend after their involvement in the FA Cup.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
Aaron Ramsdale had a forgettable night on Thursday with Pedro Goncalves beating him with a stunning strike from the halfway line. The Englishman has been ever-present for Arsenal in the Premier League and has the chance to redeem himself. A clean sheet today would put him in the lead in the Golden Glove race.
Ben White is expected to be reinstated in the right-back spot ahead of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who suffered a serious injury in midweek. With Saliba ruled out for ‘several weeks’, Rob Holding is the natural replacement for him in the right centre-back role and will partner Gabriel Magalhaes.
Oleksandr Zinchenko is currently an undisputed starter over Kieran Tierney at left-back. In midfield, Arteta should revert to his familiar trio. Thomas Partey should be reinstated in the number six role ahead of Jorginho, who provided a brilliant through ball for the opening goal in midweek.
Partey will be accompanied by Granit Xhaka in the centre of the park. Ahead of him, Martin Odegaard is expected to start as the attacking midfielder. Fabio Vieira had a tough outing versus Sporting and we were surprised that Arteta didn’t sub him off when extra time began. The €40 million star is set to be dropped.
Further forward, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are nailed-on starters on the right and left wing respectively. Martinelli missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out for the Gunners, but we expect Arteta to back him with a starting role in the London derby this afternoon.
Up front, Leandro Trossard should be assured his place ahead of Gabriel Jesus. The Belgian bagged a hat-trick of assists in the 3-0 rout of Fulham last weekend. Jesus is not 100 per cent fit yet and he could be introduced at the half-time interval if the Gunners find themselves in a difficult situation.
How Arsenal could line up vs Crystal Palace
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