Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Predictions and Picks

There are a lot of things on the mind of Arsene Wenger right now. He’s thinking of catching Leicester. He’s thinking of instilling consistency in his team. And whether he admits it or not, he’s thinking of guiding Arsenal into their 500^th Premier League victory. All those will be front and center this Sunday when Arsenal get a visit from the Eagles, who are merely looking to stretch their unbeaten streak. Read on for more about this matchup. You can also check out our breakdown of Leicester City vs. West Ham United.

International Soccer News & Previews

Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace United Preview

Where: Emirates Stadium, London

When: Sunday, April 17, 11:00 AM ET

Line: Arsenal -105 at Crystal Palace -115, tie +395; total: 3.0 – view all Premier League lines

TV Broadcast: NBCSN

Betting on Arsenal (17-8-7, 59 pts)

Arsene Wenger has at least two things he doesn’t want to lose: this Sunday’s game at home and hope that Arsenal is going to supplant Leicester atop the Premier League table.

The Gunners could help themselves inch closer to the top when they host a team they should be able to take care of in the form of Crystal Palace. The Gunners have been unbeaten in three games following a 3-3 tie with West Ham United on April 19—a game that saw them go up 2-0 on goals by Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez but fail to win because of their inability to contain Hammers hotshot Andy Carroll, who picked up a hat trick.

Arsenal, however, will likely have an easier time jamming the attacks of their next opponents. The Gunners, fifth in the league with just 1.03 goals allowed per game, will face a Crystal Palace side that went scoreless in two of its last four outings.

As for their own attack, Arsenal will look for production from Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez, who’ve scored 21 total goals on the season. Mesut Özil will look to set up Giroud and Sanchez, as the midfielder paces the league with 18 assists, seven more than the next player.

Betting on the Crystal Palace (10-8-15, 38 pts)

Unlike Arsenal, the Eagles don’t have a shot at winning the Premier League. Don’t expect Crystal Palace to just bend over and let the Gunners walk away with three more points this Sunday. After all, Crystal Palace are not yet a hundred percent safe from relegation.

The Eagles are coming off a goalless draw with Everton, which added another disappointing example of how dire Crystal Palace’s offense has been all season long. The Eagles were able to have the possession in the Everton game 57% of the time while outshooting the Toffees, 19-9, yet failed to ship in a goal. Up against Arsenal next, the Eagles could have another difficult time trying to find the back of the net.

That said, Arsenal could sometimes play with a wobbly defense. Crystal Palace have players like Connor Wickham, Scott Dann, and Yohan Cabaye, who are capable of taking advantage any lapses on Arsenal’s backfield.

Crystal Palace’s defense has been stingy of late, as they’ve recorded back-to-back clean sheets.