Two capital clubs who scraped slender wins on the opening day of the Premier League campaign do battle at Selhurst Park on Monday night, as Crystal Palace host London rivals Arsenal.
The Eagles subjected Sheffield United to a 1-0 beating at Bramall Lane last weekend, while Mikel Arteta’s side got the better of Nottingham Forest 2-1.
Even without the mercurial Wilfried Zaha or influential assist king Michael Olise – who has remarkably snubbed interest from Chelsea in order to extend his stay at Selhurst Park – Palace deservedly put Sheffield United to the sword last weekend thanks to Odsonne Edouard’s close-range finish.
It could and probably should have been more for the Eagles, who were thwarted by Blades number one Wes Foderingham on several occasions, but Roy Hodgson still celebrated his recent 76th birthday in ideal fashion as Palace rose into the top five of the table with just one game played.
Of course, few will expect the Eagles to still be occupying a European berth when all is said and done in the 2023-24 Premier League, but Palace now have a chance to open a top-flight season with back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign, which was Hodgson’s first at the helm.
Furthermore, Palace managed to turn Selhurst Park into somewhat of a fortress last season, as they only lost five times at home throughout the campaign and took 11 points from the final 15 on offer in front of their own supporters, as Liverpool and Manchester United both came up short on the Eagles’ turf.
However, four of Palace’s five Premier League home defeats last term came against fellow teams from the capital – the outlier being a 1-0 loss to Manchester City – and Arsenal’s affinity for local rivalries last season was well-documented indeed.
Arsenal and Palace can empathise when it comes to starting the season without key attackers, as Gabriel Jesus continues his rehabilitation from a knee operation, but as was the case over the winter, Eddie Nketiah proved a more than capable deputy to the Brazilian number nine.
Aided by an outrageous piece of skill from Gabriel Martinelli, the former England Under-21 international fired Arsenal into the lead against Nottingham Forest last weekend, before Bukayo Saka gave ex-Arsenal man Matt Turner an even harsher homecoming with a rocket into the top corner.
However, as was the case several times last season, Mikel Arteta’s side switched off after taking a 2-0 lead and offered Forest a route back into the game through Taiwo Awoniyi’s lightning-quick counter-attacking goal – triggering flashbacks of last year’s Liverpool and West Ham United capitulations – but the Gunners held on for an uncomfortable triumph.
Last year’s runners-up now return to the road after registering 10 clean sheets on away territory last term – by far the most in the league, as was their tally of 39 points on their travels – but from Arteta’s four games in charge on a Monday night, the Gunners have lost all four of them.
Such a historical statistic may pale into insignificance, though, as Arsenal set a new record for London derby successes last term – winning 10 of their 12 such affairs, the first of which came in a 2-0 triumph at Selhurst Park before romping Paddy McCarthy’s Palace 4-1 at their Emirates headquarters.
While the good news for Palace fans is that Olise has committed his future to Selhurst Park, the bad news is that the France Under-21 international is still working his way back from a severe thigh injury, and Hodgson has conceded that it will be a “while” before he is seen on the pitch again.
Summer signing Matheus Franca has also had his debut delayed due to a lower back concern, while Will Hughes is yet to recover from a knee injury sustained in pre-season and may take another couple of weeks to get up to speed. Meanwhile, Marc Guehi came off with cramp at Bramall Lane, but he will be fine for this one.
Edouard was heavily linked with a switch to Arsenal before Palace came calling, and the ex-Celtic man now has one of Zaha’s records in sight, as the Ivorian is the only previous Eagles player to score in both of their opening games of a season.
As for Arsenal, summer signing Jurrien Timber lasted just 50 minutes on his Premier League debut before becoming the latest in a long line of players to sustain a devastating anterior cruciate ligament rupture, which will keep the Dutchman sidelined for several months.
On a brighter note, Oleksandr Zinchenko is on the brink of returning from a calf issue and could make a timely comeback at Selhurst Park, where Jesus (knee) misses out once more, and the availability of a few out-of-favour players in Folarin Balogun (ankle), Albert Sambi Lokonga (muscle) and Mohamed Elneny (knee) is questionable.
Fresh from scoring a wonderful opening-day goal, Saka could now match Paul Merson’s all-time club record of playing in 82 consecutive Premier League games, and the 21-year-old should form part of an untouched attacking trident with Martinelli and compatriot Nketiah.
Monday’s London derby could also mark a first match in Arsenal colours for on-loan Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, but Aaron Ramsdale should win this head-to-head to start in between the sticks.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Johnstone; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Doucoure, Lerma; Ayew, Eze, Schlupp; Edouard
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli
We say: Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal
Palace maybe deserved more than just the one goal at Bramall Lane last weekend, and Eberechi Eze needs no second invitation to create openings for his teammates, but we can only see Monday’s capital clash going one way.
London derbies and away matches were Arsenal’s bread and butter last term, and even though Arteta’s men left something to be desired on the opening day, three points should be theirs at Selhurst Park.
