Paul Merson states his prediction for Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Paul Merson is predicting that Arsenal will edge past Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon to maintain control of their top-four destiny.
The Gunners have won six of their past seven Premier League games to move ahead of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to secure a place in the Champions League next term.
Arsenal managed to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to Liverpool FC with a narrow 1-0 win against Aston Villa in their last Premier League game before the international break.
The north London side will start the Premier League weekend three points ahead of Tottenham.
Crystal Palace are positioned in mid-table and have managed to steer clear of relegation trouble in Patrick Vieira’s first season in charge.
The Eagles are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games, including an impressive goalless stalemate with league leaders Manchester City.
Former Arsenal midfielder Merson is backing Arsenal to secure a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday evening.
“I’ve predicted wins for Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham, so Arsenal have to win this one to be on track for a place in the Premier League top four,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“Palace have a big game against Chelsea in the FA Cup to look forward to a little later in the month and the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Michael Olise are injured, so they probably won’t be risked for this one.
“Arsenal got a massive result against Aston Villa after losing to Liverpool and will do well with another win here. This is a big game with a lot of pressure, but I think Mikel Arteta and co will get all three points.”
Arsenal played out a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace in their first Premier League meeting of the season at The Emirates.
Alexandre Lacazette scored an equaliser in the fourth minute of added time to rescue a point after Christian Benteke and Odsonne Edouard had cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener.
Crystal Palace have only managed to record one of their past nine Premier League games against Arsenal.
The Gunners have a strong record at Selhurst Park in the Premier League era, losing just once in their past 16 visits to south-east London.
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