The first part of a pre-Christmas double-header brings together two clubs whose ideas of what constitutes ‘patchy form’ have been somewhat different, so far this season.
By Ian King
Recent H2H record
Arsenal go into their League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace having won their last four straight games against the Eagles, with the last meeting between the two clubs resulting in a 5-0 blowout at The Emirates Stadium in January. But prior to that, their record had been somewhat patchier, having won just one of their previous eight meetings, going back to October 2018.
League form indicators
Both clubs have had peaks and troughs this season. There are two very different ways of interpreting Arsenal’s recent Premier League form. On the one hand, they’re unbeaten in their last six. But on the other, they’ve only won three of their last nine matches and their last performance, a goalless home draw against Everton on Saturday, hinted at issues in front of goal which may have to be addressed in the January transfer window.
Crystal Palace had an abysmal start to the season, failing to win any of their first eight league games. But they’ve only lost once in the League since beating Spurs in October and last time out they had a both technically excellent and morale-boosting win 3-1 at fierce rivals Brighton.
Ex-Gunner primed to shine?
There’s one potential name on the teamsheet which stands out more than any other. Palace paid Arsenal £25m for Eddie Nketiah in the summer, but he’s only managed one goal for them so far, and that came in their Carabao Cup win against Queens Park Rangers in September. The narrative surely demands that he comes into the Palace team for this match and kick-starts his season against his former club, though how likely that actually is to happen is very much open to question.
Team News
This is the Carabao Cup, so who’ll be taking the pitch for these two teams would be complicated even if injuries weren’t a major factor. Both Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard absences remain a serious concern for Arsenal. Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain as injured as ever, while goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied and Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko both remain highly doubtful. For Palace, Joel Ward and Adam Wharton were in the squad for the Brighton match but whether they’re thrown back in for this match is open to question, while Chadi Riad and Matheus Franca remain injured. Expect changes.
And expect changes again when these two meet in the league this coming weekend.
Prediction
An Arsenal team coming into this match off the back of one of their weakest performances of the season against a Crystal Palace side arriving off their best makes for a match which may turn out to be a tight one. But goals had been something of an issue for Palace up to the last couple of matches, and even if it’s a little makeshift for a match like this in this age of injuries, Arsenal’s defence has been one of the most miserly in the Premier League and I’d still call them for a 1-0 win.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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