For the second season running Arsenal are kicking off the Premier League return, but they'll hope that things go a bit better than their loss to Brentford to begin last season. There's a fair reason to expect improvement after adding Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Mikel Arteta is doing what he can to bring the Manchester City environment to the Emirates stadium.
For Patrick Vieria, he'd like nothing more than for Crystal Palace to take the next step in their progression by toppling Arsenal to open the season. They've made smart additions in the transfer market and one of the beautiful things about the start of the season is that all the teams are on equal footing. Even without Michael Olise, and with Conor Gallagher gone back to Chelsea, Crystal Palace will put up quite a fight protecting their home grass.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Friday, August 5 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Selhurst Park -- London, England
- TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Odds: Crystal Palace +340; Draw +260; Arsenal -121 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Crystal Palace: Thanks to tours of Australia and Singapore, Crystal Palace had the unique challenge of needing to have split squads during preseason which didn't give Vieira the best chance to work on all of the players together. Some of the players didn't meet the entry requirements of each country but they're all together now as he also looks to integrate new signing Chris Richards into the side. Most of the squad will be available but Michael Olise, Sam Johnstone, Jack Butland, and James McArthur will be unavailable for the match.
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Arsenal: Arteta has close to a clean bill of health. Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Kieran Tierney, and Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the match but with the new system that will see Ben White at right back to allow the attack to stay forward more. It gives Arsenal plenty to go forward to support Jesus while also balancing the defense when Oleksander Zinchenko goes marauding down the let flank.
Prediction
Although the preseason was strong for Arsenal, Patrick Vieria knows how to get draws in though situations. Pick: Crystal Palace 2, Arsenal 2