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Arsenal started the 2018-19 season in disappointing fashion as they lost back-to-back matches against Manchester City and Chelsea.
Since their defeat to the Blues in mid-August, though, they have come away victorious from every single encounter they have entered, an 11-game winning run that continued against Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.
Crystal Palace have enjoyed no such luck recently and go into Sunday’s home clash with the Gunners on the back of three consecutive defeats.
Here are all the details for a clash that currently looks to be Arsenal’s to lose:
Date: Sunday, October 28
Time: 1:30 p.m. GMT, 9:30 a.m. ET
TV Info: Sky Sports Premier League (UK), NBC Gold (U.S.)
Live Stream: Sky Go, NBC Sports App
Match Odds (via OddsShark): Crystal Palace (3-1), Arsenal (10-11), Draw (23-10)
Head coach Unai Emery made six changes for Arsenal’s drab 1-0 win over Sporting on Thursday.
The likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Hector Bellerin and, perhaps most crucially, Mesut Ozil will likely return to the starting XI for Sunday.
Ozil has been in fine nick so far this season as was particularly impressive last time out in the league against Leicester City, per WhoScored.com:
WhoScored.com @WhoScored
.@MesutOzil1088: Man of the Match vs Leicester – Rating 8.94, Goals 1, Assists 1, Key Passes 4, Dribbles 2, Times Fouled 2, Tackles 2 @Arsenal
Full player ratings — https://t.co/Qf1jvy0mm1 https://t.co/5fyIBKViOY
As the fulcrum of Arsenal’s attacking unit the German brings the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into play.
Those four will likely relish the opportunity to take on a Palace side low on confidence after their recent poor form.
While Arsenal have been flying in attack, the Eagles have been struggling for goals and have netted just five in nine league games.
It doesn’t help that Christian Benteke is currently sidelined through injury, but Wilfried Zaha has also been less effective recently.
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After a superb campaign in 2017-18, the Ivorian is getting more attention from opposition defenders and, as a result, he is finding it harder to make an impact.
The form book suggests a victory for Arsenal, but the Selhurst Park crowd could have a big part to play as they can create a very intimidating atmosphere when at their loudest.
Emery will be eager for his side to get ahead early in order to silence the home crowd.
The Gunners have not been great in opening halves this season and have headed into the break without the lead on eight occasions in their 11-game winning streak.
That is a trend Emery would surely like to see altered on Sunday, and Arsenal will have a good chance against a struggling Palace side.
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