Arsenal will be looking for their 12th straight win in all competitions when they travel to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners have won their last seven in the league to move into fourth position and enter this weekend's fixtures just two points off the top of the division.
Crystal Palace
© Reuters
Two wins, one draw, six defeats - that is Palace's record after nine matches of the 2018-19 campaign, with a total of seven points leaving them in 15th position. The supporters remain onside, but a fourth straight Premier League defeat this weekend would lead to a number of questions being asked.
Worryingly for Palace, they have not been victorious in the top flight since beating Huddersfield Town in the middle of September. Since then, they have drawn with Newcastle United, in addition to losing three straight games to Bournemouth, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton.
That will be a concern to head coach Roy Hodgson, especially considering that his team's next four in the Premier League are against Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. It is a terrible run of fixtures for a team in need of a win, and they might well find themselves in the relegation zone entering the month of December.
Goals have been a serious concern for Palace this season, with just five scored in their nine matches. Only Huddersfield (four) have a worse record at this stage, and the fact that Wilfried Zaha has three of them suggests that there is an over-reliance on the former Man United attacker to produce.
The other two goals have come from defenders Jeffrey Schlupp and Patrick van Aanholt, with the likes of Jordan Ayew, Christian Benteke, Andros Townsend and Alexander Sorloth struggling to produce this term.
Luka Milivojevic scored 10 Premier League goals for Palace last season, but the 27-year-old missed a penalty against Everton last weekend, and another source of goals from the 2017-18 campaign seems to have dried up for the Eagles.
Palace have also won just one and lost 14 of their last 16 Premier League matches against the teams that finished in the top six last season.
Recent form: LWDLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDWLLL
Arsenal
© Reuters
Arsenal are currently on their best run of form for 11 years, and will go in search of their 12th straight win in all competitions at Selhurst Park this weekend.
It would be fair to say that there were eyebrows raised when Unai Emery replaced Arsene Wenger as head coach of the Gunners ahead of the 2018-19 campaign. After all, Emery lacked experience of English football, and did not exactly flourish during his time in charge of Paris Saint-Germain.
There were more questions than answers when Arsenal lost to Manchester City and Chelsea in their first two matches of the campaign, but the Gunners have been perfect across three separate competitions since then.
Indeed, Thursday's 1-0 success at Sporting Lisbon was their third Europa League triumph this season, and they also progressed past Brentford in the League Cup. The Premier League is where Arsenal simply must improve this season, however, and they have won their last seven in the top flight.
The run started against West Ham United on August 25, and they have since beaten Cardiff City, Newcastle United, Everton, Watford, Fulham and Leicester City to move into fourth position. Emery's side are just two points off Premier League leaders Manchester City as it stands, and could actually move to the top of the division if other results go for them this weekend.
Arsenal lost 11 of their 19 away Premier League matches last season but have won their last three league matches on the road, scoring 10 times in the process. There are still question marks over the team's defensive strength, but the capital outfit have played some wonderful football down the other end of the field.
There will, of course, be tougher tests. It has been a nice run of games for Arsenal, and they have fixtures with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur to come. The club's supporters have a team to be proud of once again, however, and a 12th straight success this weekend would equal their best run since October 2007.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Palace will once again be without the services of Benteke following knee surgery, while Scott Dann is a long-term absentee.
Head coach Hodgson has a decision to make when it comes to the final third of the field, with Conor Wickham and Jordan Ayew both hoping for starts.
Zaha could again be joined by Townsend in a front two, however, with Schlupp providing support from a deeper position.
As for Arsenal, Emery made six changes for the Europa League clash against Sporting on Thursday night, but the likes of Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi and Hector Bellerin will return to the starting XI this weekend.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos missed the 3-1 win over Leicester before returning against Sporting, meanwhile, and is expected to replace Rob Holding in central defence.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's position will also be under threat by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who could again start out wide to accommodate Alexandre Lacazette in the final third of the field.
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt; McArthur, Milivojevic, Kouyate, Schlupp; Zaha, Townsend
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Bellerin, Mustafi, Soktatis, Lichtsteiner; Xhaka, Torreira; Iwobi, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette
Head To Head
Palace have only ever won two Premier League matches against Arsenal, the first of which was a 1-0 success at Highbury back in October 1994.
Palace also beat the Gunners 3-0 at Selhurst Park in April 2017, but it would be fair to say that this has been a fixture dominated by Arsenal.
Indeed, the North London club recorded a 3-2 victory in the corresponding match last season, and also ran out 4-1 winners when the pair last locked horns, which was at the Emirates Stadium in January.
Sunday will bring their 44th meeting in all competitions, and Arsenal have won 28 of those matches, suffering just four defeats in the process.
We say: Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
Arsenal will not have had long to prepare for this match following their Europa League exertions, but the Gunners are on a wonderful run, and we fancy them to put another victory on the board at Selhurst Park this weekend.
No Data Analysis info
