It’s Monday Night Football and “all my rowdy friends are coming over tonight!” But no seriously, one of Arsenal’s good old friends, Patrick Vieria, is coming over to their house as he leads his Crystal Palace side in for a London derby.
The Gunners legend leads his club in as heavy underdogs, backed to the tune of 5/1. A draw can be had for 3/1 while the favored hosts are priced at 7/10. It should be an emotional game, played in a festive atmosphere.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace FYIs
Kick: Mon Oct 18, 8pm, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction: go here
Premier League Preview Podcast: go here
PL Form Guide Arsenal DWWWL Crystal Palace DDLWD
PL Position Arsenal 11th, 10 points Crystal Palace 14th, 7points
Team News for Both Sides
Starting with Arsenal, Granit Xhaka remains out, as he suffered ligament damage in his right knee during last month’s resounding North London Derby win. The Swiss man will be out until around the new year. Gabriel Martinelli is a doubt due to a knock.
Flipping to the other side, Vieira reports a clean bill of health from all of his international players who have just returned from World Cup qualifiers. The only selection issues are the two long term injury absentees, both to Achilles problems, in Eze and Ferguson.
Arsenal 3, Crystal Palace 2
Great attacking or bad defending? Or a little of both? Palace have been better than expected, but Mikel Arteta seems to be figuring some things out right now.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.