The beginning of the BPL season is always fantastic. There aren't going to be many days this year where we can boast that Crystal Palace is in the running for the Champions League while Arsenal is in the relegation zone, but heading into Match Day 2 is one of them. The Eagles have their work cut out for them if they want to avoid reverting back to the norm on Sunday.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Arsenal is the comfortable favorite in this match even after getting stunned at home by West Ham last weekend. The Gunners are better than what they showed in that introductory match for sure, but there still has to be a twinge of doubt in the backs of the minds of the fans at the Emirates after such a lackluster performance.
Sunday is a new day though, and Arsenal is once again an odds-on favorite as it was against the Hammers in the curtain-raiser. The team is a -147 choice of the oddsmakers and is favored by a half ball on the Asian Handicap.
The total is set at a flat 2.5.
KEY INJURIES
Tomas Rosicky is the latest Arsenal man to go down via injury. His knee problem is going to cost him two months. Danny Welbeck figures to continue to be out for this one, as will Jack Wilshere, though the latter two are at least getting closer to a return.
Alan Pardew has already ruled out Julian Speroni and Frazier Campbell for this match. Kwesi Appiah is still months away from returning, if he even gets back this year, while Marouane Chamakh remains a mystery with an unknown knock that kept him out of the match against Norwich to kick off the campaign.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I think our performance was not convincing. On the two aspects of our game, going forward and defending. Overall, we were punished. On top of that, I feel we gave two very cheap goals away, and they were at the wrong moments – just before halftime with two minutes to go, and just after halftime. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb." – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger assessing the first match of the year, a 2-0 defeat against West Ham
RECENT FORM
That loss to West Ham was a disgusting one for the Gunners. They were outplayed by just about every metric imaginable on their home ground by an inferior team. Worse was the fact that Petr Cech looked like a complete amateur instead of one of the world's best goalies.
The final tally is going to show that Crystal Palace beat Norwich 3-1 at Carrow Road to start the season, but the Eagles were fortunate to not be on level terms at 2-2.
Norwich City looked plucky for much of the match, and even from behind 2-1, Gary Hooper looked to have equalized late on. The goal was controversially not allowed, and Yohan Cabaye netted one four minutes into stoppage time to give CP its first win of the season.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Palace wasn't as good as that score line will indicate, but Arsenal was every bit that bad against West Ham.
There's something not quite right with the Gunners right now, and until we see them put together a solid 90 minutes and not get bulled around by an inferior foe, we're going to fade them.
Selhurst Park is a little house of horrors for the opposition, and that has especially been the case since Pardew has taken over here at Crystal Palace. We suspect that Wilfried Zaha and the men in purple and blue will manage to take at least a point from this one.
Crystal Palace 2, Arsenal 2
BookMaker has Barclays Premier League lines for every match of the season. Arsenal is lined as a -147 moneyline favorite, while the total is set at 2.5. You can make a futures bet and predict the champion, wager on head-to-head matchups or use BookMaker’s live betting feature to gamble while the match is happening.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The fixture between Arsenal and Crystal Palace is scheduled for Sunday, August 16, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. ET at Selhurst Park. The match will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.
