Former Chelsea man Chris Sutton has predicted that Arsenal will struggle to dominate Crystal Palace in their upcoming Premier League meeting.
Premier League aspirants Arsenal will go to Selhurst Park for their Matchday 17 appointment with Crystal Palace on Saturday, 21st December. These two teams locked horns in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, with the Gunners coming away with a slender 4-3 win at the Emirates Stadium in that fixture.
Having finished just two points behind champions Manchester City in the Premier League title race last season, Arsenal were expected to emerge as the obvious candidate for the title this season. However, due to a lack of consistency, especially in front of goal, they have fallen behind Liverpool and Chelsea in the rankings.
The North Londoners have amassed 30 points from 16 matches so far. They are trailing league leaders Liverpool by six points — despite playing a game more — and second-placed Chelsea by four.
Chris Sutton Predicts Narrow Win for Arsenal
Arsenal are coming into Saturday’s clash on the back of consecutive draws in the Premier League. In his BBC column, Sutton backed them to put an end to their winless streak.
Sutton wrote:
“This is a rematch of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final, when Arsenal scored from open play. I guess Christmas miracles do happen. Mikel Arteta’s side edged that tie and this game is going to be just as close. Crystal Palace are much improved in recent weeks and have really turned a corner.
“I watched the analysis of their win over Brighton on MOTD2 last week, when they were focusing on the Eagles’ back three and the consistency of Marc Guehi, Maxence Lacroix and Trevoh Chalobah, who have now played together for the past 12 games.”
He added:
“So, this is not going to be easy for the Gunners. I expected them to kick on this season but that has not happened – they have only lost two of their first 16 league games, but they only won half of them.
“Arsenal really need a win here, though, and I think they will find a way of getting it. I am going for a 1-0 victory and it doesn’t matter if their goal comes from another set-piece, because they all count. As I’ve said before, a few other teams would love to carry the same threat they do from corners.”
Sutton’s prediction: Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
As per the data from Transfermarkt, the two teams have faced each other 55 times over the years. Arsenal have won 33 times, Palace six times, while 16 games have ended in a draw.
