England Premier League
Friday 5th August 2022
Kick off at 8pm BST
Venue: Selhurst Park
Match Preview:
The new Premier League season will kick off on Friday evening with Crystal Palace hosting Arsenal at Selhurst Park. Palace manager Patrick Vieira will start his second season with the club and this one also marks the Eagles tenth successive campaign in the top flight.
The objective for Palace this season will be of course to improve on last season which overall was a solid campaign under Vieira and you get the feeling that a top 10 finish would be seen as a great achievement for the club. Kicking off their season against Arsenal is no easy game of course but Palace will look at last seasons victory at home over the Gunners and will try to take something from that. An evening game at home also could well be a good advantage for Vieira’s side and a sold out home crowd will be spurring their team on and so this won’t be straight forward for Arsenal, though they will start the game as the favourites.
Transfer activity for the Eagles hasn’t raised any eyebrows so far although they have brought in defender Chris Richards from Bayern Munich for £10m. The American had initially impressed the German giants although he was soon loaned out to Hoffenheim. The good news so far is that Palace have kept the core of their team and have only released fringe players, of course a lot could change by the end of the month.
The Eagles pre-season has seen four wins from 8 games although they have had some stiff competition in facing both Liverpool and Manchester United, losing 2-0 and 3-1. The club recently beat QPR 3-0 and Montpellier 4-2.
There’s been a buzz about Arsenal this summer and some believe that the Gunners could use this season to make a statement and possibly have their best campaign in some time. This is headed by the interesting arrivals of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko both coming from champions Manchester City. Midfielder Fabio Vieira has arrived from Porto and Brazilian Marquinhos has been brought in from Sao Paulo. Indeed Arsenal have spent just over £100m as they attempt to make a splash in the league and put to bed their 5th place finish and the anguish of missing out on Champions League football last season.
Pre-season has been impressive with victories over Everton, Chelsea and a 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla. Jesus has scored seven goals in pre-season and he is already being tipped to have a fantastic season for the Gunners and could well have found his right club, where he may end up with more consistency and goals. Certainly the fans are looking forward to this season and for now some of the doom and gloom which has followed the club in recent seasons has dissipated.
Team News:
Crystal Palace: Jack Butland has a hand injury and is expected to miss the first month of the season. James McArthur is out with a groin injury and isn’t expected back until the beginning of September. Michael Olise (foot) and Sam Johnstone (thigh) are only 50/50 to make this game.
Arsenal: The Gunners have no injuries to their first team coming into this match.
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Head to Head:
Last season Crystal Palace won this fixture 3-0.
Crystal Palace have only beaten Arsenal twice in the last 10 meetings.
There is a 70% chance to see over 3.5 goals.
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Prediction:
Arsenal got caught out here last season and as the run in for a top 4 place took hold Mikel Arteta’s side imploded and this was one of those games. Generally home or away Arsenal have a good record over Palace and they need to start the season well. A win will be a huge priority for a side who have looked brilliant in pre-season. Let’s remember the beginning of last season when Arsenal opened their account with a defeat against Brentford who had just been promoted, the Gunners need to set their bar high and this is why this will be an interesting game.
Not much is expected of Palace this season but there were certainly moments in the last campaign where the club looked like a force coming forward and manager Vieira is very serious in his job and would love to get another one over his former club. Certainly Palace can start the match strong but there are goals in this Arsenal side and if they score early then the buzz from the home fans could well fizzle out soon enough. This fixture has a history of goals and we believe we will see a few on Friday night.
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Betting Tips:
Arsenal to beat Crystal Palace at 1.70
Anytime goalscorer: Gabriel Jesus at 2.50
Over 2.5 goals at 1.91
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