Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes (left) and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London. Picture date: Wednesday May 19, 2021.The English Premier League season opener featuring CRYSTAL PALACE and Arsenal should be a Friday night thriller. Since Patrick Vieira, a former Gunners hero, will be managing the Eagles, both teams will be eager to start the season off on the right foot.
To better their fifth-place position from the previous season, when bitter rival Spurs forced them out of the top four, Arsenal has made a significant statement of intent this summer. Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, Matt Turner, Fabio Vieira, and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all arrived at the Emirates. With the promise of greater spending, over £100 million has already been spent.
Palace has been backed by punters to be dark horses this season though after finishing 12th place last term. They’ve brought in Chris Richards, Malcolm Ebiowei, Sam Johnstone, and Cheick Doucoure.
Form Guide: Arsenal
The Gunners cast a shadow on all other EPL teams with their displays, the most recent a 6-0 win over Sevilla at the Emirates Cup. Previously, they did superbly too, trashing several teams, for example, Chelsea, 4-0, on the US tour.
Gabriel Jesus’ transfer is the best deal they could do. The Brazilian’s appearance on the field opened a lot of options for Arteta, and so far, he has been the crucial reason why Arsenal plays good football. The way he influences the rest of the lineup is simply fantastic.
There will be a large crowd at Selhurst Park and the Gunners have had a very good preseason. Arteta will want to have a perfectly healthy squad at his disposal for the season opener.
Form Guide: Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace is not just about making up the numbers. They have improved drastically since the arrival of the Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira last season, and play entertaining free-flowing football. Interestingly, Arsenal only gained one point from our two League meetings last season, and that was only because of a last-gasp, 95th-minute equalizer from Alex Lacazette at the Emirates last October.
Even worse, Patrick Vieira’s revitalized Palace destroyed the Gunners 3-0 in the return at Selhurst Park in April which started our slump towards the end of the season and contributed immensely to us losing out on the Champions League.
The Eagles have played nine friendlies, which is probably more than any other EPL team, so they are essentially at a competitive pace. Viera did mix and match the lineups, but he also aimed to build synergy and get his club going quickly in the campaign.
How the game could go
The new Premier League season will begin with a challenging home encounter for Crystal Palace, who previously crushed Arsenal 3-0 in April. Winning games like Palace away will be essential to Arteta reaching his aims of leading his Gunners team into the Champions League this season.
In Patrick Vieira’s first season in charge, Crystal Palace easily escaped relegation, but the Frenchman will now be expected to improve on a strong 12th-place performance by moving the Eagles into the top half of the table. In this transfer window, Palace has already added Doucoure from Lens, Richards from Bayern Munich, and Johnstone from West Brom, but they still need to acquire a few more players before August is out.
Arsenal has made impressive signings in Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus this summer and they have fitted in like a glove. It would be hard to see this Arsenal side not coming out on top
Betting Predictions
Both Teams to Score (YES)
Both teams have found the back of the net in four of the last six head-to-heads between Crystal Palace and Arsenal in the Premier League. Five of the host’s last six outings, all friendlies, have also ended with both teams getting on the scoreboard while three of Arsenal’s last six matches have ended the same way, so you can see why we’re not convinced that either side will keep a clean sheet in this game. Bet9ja have 1.75, 1xbet have 1.85 and Paripesa have 1.85 odds.
Over 2.5
We’re predicting goals in this game as four of the last six meetings between these two clubs have produced over 2.5 goals, including the Eagles’ 3-0 win against Arsenal back in April. At least three goals have also been scored in five of Crystal Palace’s last six matches while five of Arsenal’s last six fixtures also produced over 2.5 goals, adding plenty more weight to our prediction for Friday’s clash in the Premier League. Bet9ja have 1.88 odds, Paripesa have 1.99, and 1xbet have 1.99 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Crystal Palace)
Wilfred Zaha
Wilfred Zaha seems to be in very good shape with a total of 5 goals in his previous four games in the pre-season for Palace. After scoring his season’s best of 14 goals in the Premier League last season it looks like he is ready to continue in that form. Bet9ja have 4.00 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.60.
Odsonne Eduard
The French forward join Palace last term and has tried to cement his position in the starting lineup for this team. Since joining the club, he has been a good addition to the squad overall and the coach is hoping to bring out more in him this season. He is quite effective in this Palace system, and he would wow today with one or two goals to count. He will want to score more. Bet9ja have 4.35 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.60.
Anytime Goalscorer (Arsenal)
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus’ transfer is the best deal they could do. The Brazilian’s appearance on the field opened a lot of options for Arteta, and so far, he has been the crucial reason why Arsenal plays good football. The way he influences the rest of the lineup is simply fantastic. He can play an important role for this Arsenal side this season, with scoring more than five goals already this pre-season he seems really in the goalscoring mood. Bet9ja have 2.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.39.
Saka
Bukayo Saka had a great season last term and now coming into this season and this game very confident. He should be on spot-kick duties and is always a contender for an anytime goal so if he does start, he stands out as a potential scorer option. Saka had the most goals last season in the PL for Arsenal and he is sure to sure that quality here today. Bet9ja have 3.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.10.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
