Arsenal begin their return to the Premier League for a second season, but will be hoping to improve on their loss to Brentford to open last season. With the additions of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko there is every reason to expect improvement, Mikel Arteta is doing what he can to bring the Manchester City atmosphere to the Emirates Stadium.
For Patrick Vieira, he would like nothing more than for Crystal Palace to take the next step in their development by beating Arsenal to open the season. They have ramped up the transfer market and one of the beautiful things about the start of the season is that all the teams are on a level playing field. Even without Michael Ulysses, and Conor Gallagher headed back to Chelsea, Crystal Palace will put up quite a fight to protect their home ground.
Here are our stories, how you can watch the match and more:
Viewing method and difficulties
- History: Friday, August 5 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- location: Selhurst Park — London, England
- Television: USA | Live Stream: fuboTV (try it for free)
- Difficulties: Crystal Palace +340; draw +260; Arsenal -121 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured game | Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Stories
Crystal Palace: Thanks to the tours to Australia and Singapore, Crystal Palace had the unique challenge of requiring separate squads during pre-season which did not give Vieira the best opportunity to work with all the players. Some of the players did not meet the entry requirements of each country but now they are all together as they look to include new signing Chris Richards in the squad. Most of the squad will be available but Michael Ollis, Sam Johnstone, Jack Butland and James McArthur will not be available for the match.
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Weapons: Arteta is close to a clean bill of health. Emil Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Kieran Tierney, and Takehiro Tomiyasu will all miss the match but with the new system which will see Ben White at right back to allow the attack to continue further forward. This gives Arsenal enough to push forward to support Jesus while also balancing the defense when Oleksandr Zinchenko moves down the flank.
prediction
Although the pre-season was strong for Arsenal, Patrick Vieira knows how to draw in equal conditions. Choose: Crystal Palace 2, Arsenal 2
