Arsenal v Crystal Palace predictions, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats

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Winning the Carabao Cup won’t calm those who mock Mikel Arteta’s lack of silverware since joining Arsenal.

But victory in this competition could be a marker; a springboard to much greater things.

Arsenal are flying in the Champions League after six wins from six and ensured they are top of the Premier League at Christmas after securing a 1-0 win over Everton at the weekend.

This tie was delayed from last week to avoid a pile-up of matches and this means that the draw for the semi-finals has already taken place. The winners here will face Chelsea in the last four.

Crystal Palace took advantage of an ill and understrength Liverpool to book their place in the quarter-final.

The impressive 3-0 win sparked a run of seven wins in 10 matches, but they have been through a tough time of late.

The Eagles lost 3-0 at home to Manchester City despite playing well, but were held to a 2-2 draw by Finnish side KuPS to miss out on direct qualification for the UEFA Conference League quarter-finals, then made 11 changes for the weekend at Elland Road where they were beaten 4-1 by Leeds United.

How to watch Arsenal vs Crystal Palace

Arsenal v Crystal Palace kicks off at 8:00 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, December 23 at the Emirates.

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Football, ITVX and ITV 1, with coverage starting at 7 p.m.

BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.

Arsenal team news

Arsenal still have a list of absentees in defense with Gabriel, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera all set to miss out again.

Areta still cannot call on the services of Kai Havertz as the Gunners embark on a trio of home games – this one, followed by visits from Brighton (27th) and Aston Villa (30th).

Gabriel Jesus scored a hat-trick when these two also clashed in the final eight games of last season and the Brazilian could get the nod again after his recent return from injury.

Expect some rotation from Arsenal, meaning likely departures for midfielder Christian Norgaard, left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Expected Arsenal line-up

(4-3-3) Képa; Bois, Saliba, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Eze, Merinos; Martinelli, Jesus, Madueke.

Crystal Palace team news

Ismaila Sarr scored twice at Anfield in the last round but will not be available here after being called up for the AFCON.

Winger Daniel Munoz remains out with a knee injury while Japan’s Daichi Kamada is also on the treatment table.

Eddie Nketiah has scored a hat-trick for Arsenal at this stage of the tournament in 2021/22 and, given his superb record in the Carabao Cup, could start in attack for Palace at the expense of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is playing through a knee injury.

Expected Crystal Palace line-up

(3-4-2-1) Bless; Guéhi, Lacroix, Canvot; Wharton, Hughes, Lerma, Sosa; Pino, Devenny; Nketiah.

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Stats

– Arsenal have won seven of their last eight meetings with Crystal Palace in all competitions (D1), already beating the Eagles 1-0 in the Premier League this season.

– Crystal Palace knocked out Arsenal in the 1970-71 League Cup, but have since lost all three of their meetings against the Gunners in the competition (both 1992-93 semi-final matches, last season’s quarter-final).

– Arsenal have won their last two League Cup quarter-finals, including a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at this stage last season.

– Crystal Palace reached the League Cup quarter-finals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991-92/1992-93, losing 3-2 at this stage against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last season.

– Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 in the fourth round of this season’s League Cup – they have not won consecutive games against other Premier League teams in the competition since a run of three in the 2010-11 campaign (against Tottenham, Newcastle and Wigan).

– Crystal Palace beat reigning Premier League champions Liverpool in the final round of the League Cup – the only team to knock out the previous season’s top two in a single campaign is West Ham United in 2021-22 (Man City and Man Utd).

– Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri has scored four goals in his five League Cup starts. Since the start of last season, only Diego Gómez and Cody Gakpo (5 each) have scored more in the competition than the 18-year-old.

– Since Eddie Nketiah’s League Cup debut in October 2017, no player has scored more goals in the competition than the Crystal Palace striker (13).

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace predictions

Arsenal haven’t won the Carabao Cup since 1993, which is difficult to understand given that other top teams have won this trophy multiple times.

But their recent dominance over Crystal Palace – seven wins in the last eight head-to-head matches – combined with the visitors’ current form and missing key players suggests they can take a step closer to ending this 33-year drought.

Palace are having a good season and have shown how dangerous they can be in one-off games by winning the FA Cup last May, but their squad is currently depleted and this may well be a challenge too far.

Arsenal have taken 22 points from 24 at home in the Premier League this season and have conceded just three goals in the process.

The 8/15 for the Gunners hardly gets the heart racing, but it’s fair to expect a number of changes from Arteta and putting different players together can often mean a lack of pace early on.

Therefore, it is possible to keep the game level at the break before the Gunners find some fluidity and get going in the second half.

The Draw/Arsenal option on the HT/FT market pays 10/3.

Gabriel Martinelli has six goals in his last 16 games for Arsenal and therefore deserves a game at 13/5 in the anytime goalscoring market.