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Arsenal face a quick turnaround for a second meeting with Crystal Palace within a week when the two clubs reunite on Saturday. The Gunners came from behind to book their spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-2 victory over the Eagles on Wednesday. Gabriel Jesus emphatically ended his recent goal drought by scoring a hat-trick at the Emirates to eliminate Oliver Glasner's men. However, Palace have an instant opportunity to get revenge in a far more damaging fashion to continue their upturn in league form. The south Londoners are now unbeaten in their past five Premier League matches following a win over Brighton last time out. Arsenal haven't tasted defeat in nine in all competitions but a stalemate with Everton saw them miss the chance to close the gap to Liverpool, who had similarly dropped points. As a result, Mikel Arteta's side have been overtaken by Chelsea in second and anything less than another victory could be costly. Arteta detailed his thinking to talk SPORT behind bringing Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard off against Everton. "Declan had to come off as he was feeling something, so he was uncomfortable, " Arteta revealed in his post-match interview. The midfielder was left out of the squad for the midweek cup clash, but is expected to make an immediate return here. Odegaard played and assisted twice against Palace and will slot alongside Rice, with Thomas Partey likely selected on the left. The latter has been forced to deputise in defence this season, with full-back a particular injury concern for Arteta. Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Riccardo Calafiori are all sidelined, with Jurrien Timber playing on the right. Kieran Tierney made his first Arsenal appearance in over a year on Wednesday but went off with cramp and won't be risked so soon. Myles Lewis-Skelly instead will return after being rested in midweek, with David Raya, William Saliba, and Gabriel all nailed on to start. Gabriel Martinelli has struggled for form this season but has scored more Premier League goals against Crystal Palace than he has against any other opponent with five. That may give the Brazilian the edge over Leandro Trossard, however the same can't be said for his countryman Jesus. The latter's treble provided a timely boost of confidence but will be an option from the bench with Kai Havertz leading the line. As for the home side have lost Daniel Munoz to suspension after the Colombian picked up his fifth Premier League yellow card. Nathaniel Clyne is set to reclaim his starting berth from eighteen-year-old Caleb Kporha, who managed 45 minutes in midweek. Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta were both withdrawn after an hour to manage their minutes following returns from injury. However, the pair will both start again here, with Adam Wharton, Matheus Franca, Rob Holding and Chadi Riad all unavailable. This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, December 21. Kick-off at Selhurst Park is scheduled for 5: 30pm. The action will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. talk SPORT will also keep you up to date with all the latest news and reaction. Meanwhile, talk SPORT. com will have live updates of the game on our dedicated live blog. To tune in to talk SPORT or talk SPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talk SPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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