Arsenal have a massive chance to move further clear in the Premier League title

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Arsenal have a massive chance to move further clear in the Premier League title

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March 19, 2023

Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace live stream: How to watch Premier League online, prediction, TV channel, time, odds. Arsenal returns to Premier League action Sunday when the top side hosts Crystal Palace in a 10 a.m. EST match at Emirates Stadium. Hopefully, a dry and fan-filled Emirates Stadium.

Last Saturday, Arsenal shoved past Bournemouth 3-2 to advance to a league-best 66 points and current 5-point cushion over nearest chaser, defending EPL champ Manchester City, entering the weekend.

Then came Thursday’s leaky roof, causing fans to vacate their seats while the home team dropped out of its Europa League title pursuit with a loss to Sporting Lisborn on penalty kicks.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace remains in search of its first EPL win over 2023. It’s last defeat came midweek vs. Brighton and Hove Albion in the M23 derby. It will be up to Wilfried Zaha and mates Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze to press through Arsenal’s back line.

What: English Premier League

Who: Arsenal (21-3-3, 66 points) vs. Crystal Palace (6-12-9, 27)

When: Sunday, March 19, 2023

Time: 10 a.m. EST

Where: Emirates Stadium, London, England

Channel: USA Network

Sunday’s sole Premier League game should have constituted a homecoming for one of north London’s favorite sons but Patrick Vieira will be nowhere to be seen at the Emirates Stadium after Crystal Palace abruptly sacked their head coach on Friday morning. The Eagles are winless in 2023, parting ways with their manager in light of a 1-0 loss to Brighton in midweek.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have won their last five Premier League games but return to action three days after a morale and energy sapping 120 minutes against Sporting CP in the Europa League, drawing 1-1 in normal time before losing in the resulting penalty shoot out. To make matters worse both William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu limped out of the game, the latter departing the ground on crutches after an awkward slip.

Arsenal: The last time Mikel Arteta’s side exited a cup competition (losing to Manchester City in the FA Cup) it began their worst run of form of the season so far, picking up one point from their next three Premier League games to open the door for City to burst back into the title race. This weekend they instead have an opportunity to push eight points clear in the first of what so many in north London are terming 11 finals.

“We have to move forward now,” said captain Martin Odegaard after the defeat to Sporting. “We have to look to Sunday. It started already now in the changing room and we get ready. We just have to change the mindset again. I think everyone is disappointed, but we have to move forward and just be ready for Sunday.

“Every time we have lost this season we have learned something from it. Every time we have come back and changed the situation again. That is what we are going to do again and the next game comes quick, so it’s a good opportunity to strike back. We have to show [our new mentality] now. I think it is pretty straightforward for us now, it’s only the League. We just have to focus on every game. It’s 11 finals for us. Just come back on Sunday, that’s all that matters now.”

Crystal Palace: With Vieira departed, Under-21 head coach Paddy McCarthy stepped up to lead training on Friday and is expected to be in the dugout on Sunday, supported by what is likely to be a skeleton crew with three of the former manager’s coaching staff having left with him. Though the former France international departed with warm words from chairman Steve Parish, patience ultimately snapped due to Palace’s woeful run of form in front of goal, most notably a three game streak before Wednesday’s loss to Brighton where they failed to register a single shot on target and averaged 0.35 expected goals per game.

With 21 goals from 27 games, the Eagles have the division’s fourth worst offensive record, a disappointing return from a squad that includes Ebere Eze, Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and Odsonne Edouard, though injuries did rob Vieira of several of those players. His successor should be able to keep Palace up; they are only three points off the relegation zone but five teams sit between them and the drop zone and Sunday’s game brings an end to a brutal run of fixtures.

Arsenal have a massive chance to move further clear in the Premier League title race as they host managerless Crystal Palace in another key London derby this afternoon. With rivals Manchester City on FA Cup duty this weekend, the Gunners can extend their advantage at the top-flight summit to eight points going into the international break with a sixth successive league win.

Mikel Arteta will be looking for a swift reaction from his side after they were stunned by Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League on Thursday night, falling at home in the last-16 via the cruel lottery of a penalty shootout. They are heavy favourites to triumph here though and equal their entire points tally from last season with 10 games still to play, with Palace on their longest winless run since 2016.

The Eagles have still yet to win a league game in 2023 and sacked Gunners icon Patrick Vieira on Friday sitting just three points above relegation danger, with Under-21 coach Paddy McCarthy in temporary charge amid rumours over a shock return for Roy Hodgson.

The atmosphere is already building nicely around the Emirates, where there is such a fizzing buzz and sense of anticipation and expectation these days.

Palace are on an 12-match winless run across all competitions, with their last win coming against Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.

It is their longest sequence without a win since they failed to pick up a victory in 14 consecutive games between December 2015 and April 2016.

They have scored just four goals in that time and are yet to net in the first half of any game in 2023, still sitting in 12th but now just three points above the relegation zone.

Quizzed by Sky Sports after Vieira’s sacking, Palace co-owner Steve Parish said: “The players are fine and everybody is looking forward to Sunday, really. The feeling is good. You know, everybody loved Patrick, genuinely. The players had all the time in the world for him. You saw from the performances he never lost the players at all, they were all running and playing for him.

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