Arsenal will look for back-to-back victories when they face London rivals Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. The Gunners are currently in the UEFA Champions League spots and have played fewer games than the teams sitting behind them. Crystal Palace are ranked 12th in the league table, and Patrick Viera’s men are on a four-match unbeaten streak. Both teams played to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture.
Crystal Palace have won a total of seven games, lost nine, and drawn the other 13. They have managed to score 39 goals, with an xG rate of 36.46. In return, they have conceded one fewer goal and have an xGA of 40.77.
The Eagles have attempted 291 shots and average 9.3 shots per 90 minutes. Of these 291 shots, 108 were on target. The above viz shows all the shots attempted from open play by Crystal Palace. They have scored quite a few goals from inside the opposition’s penalty box, and that too, from different positions. A total of 195 shots were attempted from inside the box, and 86 of them were on target.
The home team has attempted 12,427 passes, and 10,367 of them have been successfully delivered. The above viz shows that Crystal Palace have attempted a lot of long passes in the league this season. They are only ranked behind Burnley in long passes per 90-minute stats.
Crystal Palace could be without their key player, Wilfried Zaha. Michael Olise also remains a doubt for the Eagles.
Arsenal won their 17th match before the international break against Aston Villa and have lost eight out of the 28 matches played in total. The Gunners have lost the highest number of matches among the top-four ranked teams.
Arsenal have scored 44 goals and conceded 31 in return. The xG rate of Mikel Arteta’s men this season has been 51.49, and the xGA rate is 35.51. The Gunners have attempted 405 shots and average more than 13 shots per 90 minutes. Of these 405 shots, 140 were on target. 240 shots were attempted from inside the opposition’s penalty box by the Gunners. But they have low shot accuracy from inside the box and have only managed to hit the target 94 times. Arsenal have scored fewer goals from inside the opposition’s 6-yard box than observed in the above viz.
The Gunners have taken 622 touches inside the opposition’s penalty box and average more than 20 touches per 90 minutes. Their wide players like to get inside the box and create chances for their team.
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Bukayo Saka has returned to training after testing positive for the coronavirus when he was away on international duty for England. Takehiro Tomiyasu could also get some minutes on the pitch after struggling with an injury for the past few weeks. Aaron Ramsdale remains a major doubt after struggling with a hip injury.
Arsenal will look to carry on their good run and lead the race for the fourth spot in the league table. Mikel Arteta’s men will face a tough test against Partick Viera’s men, who played a goalless draw against Manchester City in their previous league fixture.
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