Arsenal
- Arsenal have been so consistent in their domestic performances in 2025/26 that they sit top of the Premier League table with 36 points ahead of the last round of fixtures on 19 December 2025.
- Mikel Arteta has masterminded a dramatic transformation in the Gunners, turning them into title contenders with their structured, controlled possession football and ability to adapt to the shape of the game through coordinated pressing and positional overloads.
- In Noni Madueke, Arteta has the perfect foil to Bukayo Saka’s creative heart of the Gunners, the wide-running, pacey winger has scored a brace in Europe and provides the width and pace that Arsenal have lacked in recent seasons.
Crystal Palace
- Oliver Glasner’s team are having their best season in a decade, currently placed fifth in the table on 26 points, a vast improvement on their usual mid-table finishes.
- Glasner built the 2025 FA Cup winners to be a compact, defensive unit with a sting in their tail and the Eagles have that in abundance with Eberechi Eze providing the creative spark that Palace needed for their FA Cup final winner in June.
- The Eagles arrive here in mixed form, coming off the back of three straight Premier League wins, but that was followed by a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City and a draw in the Conference League with a rotated squad.
- Jean-Philippe Mateta is their main goal threat, but Marc Guehi has been getting more and more involved in recent weeks, providing the defensive backbone to Palace’s team and also chipping in with goals, including a late header to win at Fulham.
Head-to-Head
- Arsenal have won three of their last four competitive games against Palace (1 draw).
- They thrashed Palace 5-1 away at Selhurst Park in December 2024.
Arsenal
- The Gunners also have Gabriel Martinelli, who notched in the 3-0 win over Club Brugge in their perfect Champions League group stage finish.
- Saka remains the creative heartbeat of the team, but Madueke’s energy and skill allow Bukayo to operate in those tight spaces in the Premier League.
Crystal Palace
- Jean-Philippe Mateta is their main goal threat, but Marc Guehi has been getting more and more involved in recent weeks, providing the defensive backbone to Palace’s team and also chipping in with goals, including a late header to win at Fulham.
- Dean Henderson has been solid as ever in goals, having saved their bacon on countless occasions since arriving at Selhurst Park and his brilliance in the FA Cup final has given Palace a mental advantage in the big games.
Betting Insights
- This is a single-leg knockout clash with a place in the EFL Cup semi-finals and potentially a route into Europe for the winners, so it’s a big deal.
- We can’t ignore the fact that Arsenal are a better team than Palace, with superior squad depth, form and home advantage.
- They are likely to rotate players for the clash, as are Palace, but it’s hard to see any way for the outsiders to pull off an upset.
- Palace are a good bet to keep the scoreline low and the Under 2.5 Goals market at 1.85 looks a lot more valuable than Arsenal’s 1.54 odds to take the win.
Prediction
Although we are going for the favourites to edge Palace out and into the semis.
