Crystal Palace will aim to make it seven consecutive games unbeaten in all competitions as they take on a confident Arsenal side on their best run of form since Mikel Arteta's arrival.
Palace will hope to go one better than the last time these two sides met, when only a last gasp Arsenal equaliser denied them what would have been a deserved victory.
After going a goal down early on, Palace fought back admirably and hit back in the second-half through Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard, only for Alexandre Lacazette to bundle home in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The Eagles’ last victory against the Gunners at Selhurst Park came in 2017, when Yohan Cabaye scored the pick of the goals in a stunning 3-0 win over Arsene Wenger’s side.
After a difficult start to 2022, the last few months have been some spell for Crystal Palace and Patrick Vieira. The Eagles have lost just one of their last seven Premier League games, and have an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley to look forward to in a couple of weeks’ time.
Vieira dedicated the Wembley trip to the fans, but he was equally pleased with the performance of his side as they dismantled Everton despite the size of the occasion.
“It was a really good team performance,” he said after the game. “We were quite smart because we didn’t force the game. We just played long, we knew that physically they could not maintain the same stamina for that intensity, and when we scored the first goal we managed to get in control.”
The international break will have done nothing to dampen the squad’s spirits, with three players called up to the England senior side for the first time since 1991 and several securing World Cup qualification.
Now attentions return to the Premier League, and a meeting with a club Vieira knows well: Arsenal.
After an early wobble, the Gunners are now flying under Arteta and have their sights firmly set on a place in the top four and a return to the Champions League for the first time in five years.
Arsenal have won six of their last seven in the league, only losing to title-chasing Liverpool. It means they sit in fourth, three points clear of Tottenham Hotspur and still with a game in hand.
For Palace there is still plenty to play for, sitting comfortably in 12th but just three points behind Aston Villa in ninth.
Everton was the first time that Conor Gallagher, Eberechi Eze, Michael Olise and Wilfried Zaha started together under Vieira, and the result was a potent attacking display across the pitch.
Eze’s performance alongside Gallagher in a central midfield role will certainly have pleased the manager, as the talented youngster continues his full recovery from injury last season. Now Vieira must try to balance flair and solidity against Arsenal.
After a successful international break, Cheikhou Kouyaté could anchor the midfield once again but he has support in the shape of Will Hughes, who scored his first for the club against Everton.
They will come up against a resurgent midfield of Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey – the latter scored the crucial goal as Ghana qualified for the World Cup over the break.
Much of Arsenal’s threat comes from an increasingly potent front four, with Lacazette supported by Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Monday, 4th April
20:00 BST
Selhurst Park
Sky Sports
Live audio commentary Palace v Arsenal will be available on Palace TV+, a subscription service which gives subscribers live access to selected Academy match broadcasts, live audio commentary of all league and cup first-team games, and much more.
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The game will be broadcast live via Sky Sports.
You can check out our Instagram story for all of the pre-match build-up and our official Twitter page is bringing you up-to-the-minute match updates, eye-catching photos and more.
Our club website, cpfc.co.uk, is the place to go for team news on the dot, an instant report and all the post-match votes.
The official Palace app’s match centre is the place to be for everything you need during the Arsenal clash. With live stats and alerts, a running match commentary feed and lineups the moment they’re released as well as an instant match report and post-match reaction from Palace TV+, there’s no need to leave the app to follow the Eagles’ efforts.
