The Carabao Cup quarter-final tie between Arsenal and Crystal Palace will take place on December 23 at the Emirates Stadium in London. Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Arsenal
The Gunners last lifted this trophy in 2018 and have since reached the semi-finals on two occasions. The most recent run came last season, when Newcastle eliminated them with two 2-0 victories. Mikel Arteta's side have a chance to reach the last four of the Carabao Cup again, not least because the tie is at the Emirates — they already beat Palace in the current Premier League campaign in Round 9 (1-0). Notably, Arsenal have yet to concede in this season's competition, defeating Port Vale and Brighton by identical 2-0 scorelines.
- At least one team failed to score in four of Arsenal's previous Carabao Cup matches.
- Arsenal have scored two or more goals in 5 of their last 7 matches in this competition.
- The Gunners have conceded in 6 of their last 7 home ties in this cup.
Projected Arsenal starting XI (4-3-3)
Kepa Arrizabalaga – Ben White, Piero Incapie, Christian Mosquera, Miles Lewis-Skelly – Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Cristian Nergor – Max Dowman, Andre Harriman-Annos, Eberechi Eze.
Forward Kai Havertz, midfielder Max Dowman and defenders Ben White, Christian Mosquera and Gabriel Magalhaes will miss the game through injury.
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner's side have also played just two matches in this season's Carabao Cup. They beat Millwall on penalties after a 1-1 draw (4-2 on pens) and then produced a shock 3-0 away victory over Liverpool. In the 21st century Palace have only twice reached the semi-finals. Last season they exited at the quarter-final stage after a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal — that loss was their only reverse in six recent matches in this competition (4 wins, 1 draw).
- At least three goals were scored in 7 of Palace's last 8 Carabao Cup games.
- Both teams scored in 4 of Palace's last 5 league matches.
- The team scored at least two goals in each of their last four away ties in the Carabao Cup.
Projected Crystal Palace starting XI (3-4-3)
Walter Benítez – Jaidy Canwot, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi – Borna Sosa, Daniel Muñoz, Daichi Kamada, Will Hughes – Jérémy Pino, Eddie Nketiah, Ismaïla Sarr.
Midfielders Daichi Kamada, Caleb Kropa and Cheik Doucouré, plus defenders Chadi Riad and Daniel Muñoz, will miss the match through injury. Midfielder Ismaïla Sarr has been called up to international duty.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (England)
Matches – 7 (FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Community Shield, 2023/24–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 30;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.3;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 19;
Penalties – 29%.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace: Match Prediction
It's worth noting that Glasner's team will be playing their third match in six days. However, in Thursday's Conference League fixture the manager fielded players who are unlikely to feature here. As a result, both London clubs should be in a similar physical state and ready to resume their Premier League campaigns at the weekend. I expect Crystal Palace to be difficult to beat in normal time, and if they do lose it will likely be by a narrow margin.
Arsenal have won by two or more goals in just 4 of their last 12 matches in this competition. By contrast, Crystal Palace have avoided losing by such a margin in 15 of their last 16 Carabao Cup ties. In addition, Glasner's side have suffered a defeat by two or more goals only once in their previous 35 competitive matches. It's also noteworthy that the Gunners have not beaten their London rivals convincingly at the Emirates in 7 of the last 9 head-to-head meetings across the Premier League and the Carabao Cup.
My prediction – Crystal Palace +1 (handicap)
*Each team's projected starting XI is taken from their most recent match in this competition.
