Monday 10 April, 20:00
Live on Sky Sports 1
Crytal Palace
It just shows how much trouble Palace were actually in when you consider they've recently won four on the spin, and five in seven, and yet they're still only three points above the relegation zone.
Admittedly Sam Allardyce's men have two games in hand on the two clubs - Hull and Swansea - immediately below them, but the first of those games is against Arsenal, andPalace's run-in looks extremely tough with away trips to Liverpool, Manchester Ctiy, and Manchester United to come, while home games against title-chasing Spurs and a rejuvenated Leicester promise to be very difficult.
Palace's four-game winning streak was ended when they lost to Southampton in midweek and it's interesting that despite their recent improvement in form Allardyce's men have still accumulated the lowest number of points on home soil this season (13, level with Sunderland).
The Eagles go into Monday night's match with a bit of aninjury crisis to deal with; at the time of writing up to 11 members of the first team squad could be made unavailable, including the likes of Yohan Cabaye, James McArthur, Scott Dann, Patrick van Aanholt and James Tomkins.
Arsenal
Although sixth in the table and seven points behind the Champions League qualifying positions Arsenal have two games in hand on Manchester City in fourth and three in hand on Liverpool in third, so yet another Top 4 Finish (available to back at 3.75) for Arsene Wenger isn't completely out of the question just yet.
The Gunners obviously need to start turning those games in hand into points, and on recent evidence they don't appear to be in the kind of form that suggests they will do so, but their impressive midweek win over West Ham might be the start of a revival.
Prior to the visit of the Hammers Wenger's men had won just one of their previous six league outings and suffered embarrassing defeats to both Watford and West Brom, heaping the pressure on their long-serving manager.
But Wenger appears to be in a happier place now, certainly seeming a lot more relaxed in pre and post match press conferences, almost turning his will he/won't he quit the club saga into a soap opera. Don't be surprised one bit if the Gunners go on a hot run of form.
Emiliano Martinez will continue in goal because of injuries to Petr Cech and David Ospina, and Laurent Koscielny remains sidelined with an Achilles problem, but midfielderFrancis Coquelin could return after missing the win over West Ham due to personal reasons.
Match Odds
My initial feeling was that this game will be a very tough test for Arsenal, and it's likely it still will be, but given the number of injuries to Palace I expected the away side to be trading at much shorter than the 1.84 available.
That makes the Gunners a bet for me.
Since beating Southampton more than four months ago the Eagles have played seven league games at Selhurst Park,losing five on the spin, including a 0-4 thrashing by rock-bottom Sunderland, before winning 1-0 against struggling clubs Middlesbrough and Watford.
Even considering Palace's improved away performances the home form I've just outlined above, and the fact that they have a plethora of injuries, means it's impossible to back Allardyce's men here at 4.80, though the Draw might appeal to some at 4.00.
You have to go back to 1979 to find the last time Palace won at home to Arsenal. Selhurst Park isn't usually a ground that the Gunners leave without the three points tucked away. Don't expect that to change on Monday night.
Over/Under 2.5 Goals
Unless one team is trading at a massive odds-on price, and therefore likely to get three or four goals themselves, then the first thing to ask yourself in assessing this market is can you see both sides getting on the scoresheet?
I definitely can, not least because Arsenal defended woefully from set-pieces and long balls against West Brom recently, and in Christian Benteke Palace have one of the Premier League's best players in the air.
There's also the fact that Palace should be confident given their recent form, Wilfried Zaha is playing some of the best football of his life, and Andros Townsend is always a goal threat from midfield.
I ultimately expect Arsenal to score a few goals themselves and win the game, but there's every chance that Palace can get on the scoresheet in an entertaining game, so I really like Over 2.5 Goals landing here. But it seems so do many others, and the price is a tad too short for my liking.
It's just 1.66 that the game will witness at least three goals (Under 2.5 Goals is trading at around 2.34), and it's a similar price about the Yes option in the Both Teams to Score market. I wouldn't put anyone off backing those outcomes, but I think we can profit at better odds from visiting the Sportsbook.
Sportsbook Markets
An Arsenal win with Over 2.5 Goals being scored is available to back at 6/4, and of course, that allows for both a narrow away win if Palace score, or a runaway Gunners victory even if the home side don't get on the scoresheet.
I will resist having that wager for now though because once the teams are announced, if Palace line up particularly weak then backing Arsenal -1 (currently priced at 11/5) or even -2 (11/2) would make much more appeal to me.
But I don't have the luxury of knowing the starting XIs when writing this preview so I'll stick to a bet that I've alluded to already, and that's the Arsenal win with both teams getting on the scoresheet, available to back at 9/4.
Recommended Bets
Back Arsenal to Win @ 1.84
Back Arsenal Win/BTTS @ 9/4
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