Image copyright: Getty Images
2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 28
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Sunday, 19 March 2023
Kick-off is at 14h00
Arsenal have a chance to go eight points clear at the
Premier League summit when they host Crystal Palace in a London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, March 19.
The Gunners maintained the six-point gap to Manchester City with a 3-0 victory at Fulham last Sunday, which extended their winning streak in the league to five matches.
Mikel Arteta's side saw the Citizens beat Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park the previous day and they followed suite by inflicting a second successive defeat on the Cottagers.
With City involved in the FA Cup, the league leaders will look to widen the divide to second place in their quest of a first top-flight title since 2003-04.
Manchester United dropped more points in their pursuit of the top two after being held to a 0-0 draw by rock-bottom Southampton, having suffered a humiliating 7-0 loss at the hands of fierce rivals Liverpool the previous weekend.
Image copyright: Getty Images
The Eagles are in danger of getting sucked into the relegation mire after going winless in their last 10 outings, five of which ended in defeat.
Patrick Vieira's team are just three points clear of the drop zone in 12th position and have fallen eight behind Aston Villa (11th) and a further two adrift of Chelsea (10th) in the chase for a top-10 finish.
Gabriel Martinelli has really kicked on this season and is in a rich vein of form after scoring five goals in his last five games. The Brazilian winger only managed six goals in 29 league appearances last term but has already doubled his tally in 2022-23 after getting on the scoresheet in the win against Fulham.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Wilfried Zaha needs to be on top of his game if Palace hope to stand any chance of springing an upset against their neighbours from the north. The Ivory Coast winger made his second consecutive start against City since returning from injury but failed to score for the ninth match in a row, having last found the back of the net in a 2-1 win over West Ham on November 6.
In team news, Arteta has an almost fully-fit squad at his disposal, with just Mohamed Elneny (knee) and Eddie Nketiah (ankle) unavailable for selection, while Cheick Doucoure (suspension), Sam Johnstone (calf), Will Hughes (illness) and Nathan Ferguson miss out for the visitors.
Arteta refused to read too much into City counterpart Pep Guardiola's comments that the north Londoners are favourites to lift the Premier League trophy with 11 games left to play.
"I don't know, we just discuss what we discuss internally to be really humble, to work on the next training session and try to be better every day and that's our focus. There's still a huge part of the season to be completed," the Spaniard said.
Vieira expressed his frustration at conceding an 78th-minute penalty against City, which was converted by Erling Haaland, with the Frenchman insisting a lack of concentration has cost them too many times this season.
"It's happened too many times when I've mentioned we should have got something from the game. I'm really frustrated because we defended well against City. We needed to defend well, and I think we did," he said.
"The frustration is about conceding the penalty: this is something we should avoid, and the lack of concentration in that moment gave away the hard work from the players on the field today."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Arsenal - 2
Palace - 1
Draws - 2
Matchday 28 fixtures:
Friday, March 17
20h00: Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest
Saturday, March 18
15h00: Aston Villa v Bournemouth
15h00: Brentford v Leicester City
15h00: Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur
15h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United
17h30: Chelsea v Everton
Sunday, March 19
14h00: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Bet on the English Premier League with Betway
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action and heart-racing thrills when you bet on soccer leagues such as the English Premier League, the Italian Serie A, the Spanish La Liga and many more.
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions, follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and YouTube. Download the Betway App.