Crystal Palace vs Arsenal preview, prediction, h2h: Eze returns to Selhurst Park with EPL crown

Selhurst Park hosts the final match of the Premier League season on Sunday, and more importantly, the presentation of the league title trophy to Arsenal, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Gunners arrive as confirmed champions, their first top-flight crown since 2004 already secured, with preparations for next Saturday’s Champions League final firmly in mind.

Crystal Palace, however, are far from passive spectators. The Eagles have their own date with history: three days after this fixture, they fly to Leipzig to contest the Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano. That prospect changes everything about how this match will be approached.

Two clubs living through historic seasons, a fixture between two sides set to rotate heavily, and one very special guest: Eberechi Eze, who will set foot on the Selhurst Park pitch in Arsenal colours for the first time since leaving the club last summer to join the Gunners.

Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal: a champions’ parade and a final farewell

Arsenal sit top of the table, and already crowned, on 82 points, with a record of 25 wins, seven draws and five defeats. It is the end of a wait spanning more than two decades for Gunners supporters, and Mikel Arteta will be keen to protect his best players with a Champions League final against PSG just one week away.

For Crystal Palace, the numbers tell the story of a respectable but unremarkable league campaign: 14th place, 45 points (11 wins, 12 draws, 14 defeats), with survival long since guaranteed. The Eagles’ real achievement has come on the European stage, where they knocked out Shakhtar Donetsk in the semi-finals (5-2 on aggregate) to earn a first-ever Conference League final.

Recent league form reveals the point: Palace are winless in their last six Premier League matches, their most recent result a 2-2 draw snatched against Brentford on the previous matchday. Their minds are already on Germany.

At home, the Eagles have maintained a degree of solidity: they are unbeaten at Selhurst Park in their last nine matches across all competitions, which lends the fixture a degree of tactical intrigue despite the heavily rotated squads expected on both sides.

The context is different entirely for Arsenal: they arrive to celebrate, lift the trophy, and ensure that no key player picks up an injury before the European final. Squad management will take priority over the result.

Head-to-head

The two clubs have met 60 times in total, and the record tilts decisively in Arsenal’s favour: 36 wins for the Gunners, just six for Palace, and 18 draws.

In the last nine meetings between the sides, Arsenal are unbeaten with seven victories and two draws. Palace have not won a single fixture in this London derby for several years.

The reverse fixture was decided by a spectacular moment: a scissor-kick volley from Eberechi Eze in the 38th minute at the heart of the Emirates Stadium, struck against his former club. Arsenal won 1-0 in October 26 and the England international left the pitch to applause from both sets of supporters.

In the Carabao Cup this season, the two sides met again in the quarter-finals. After a 1-1 draw, Arsenal advanced on penalties (8-7) in a night that Maxence Lacroix will want to forget: the defender scored an own goal to put Arsenal ahead, then missed the decisive spot kick in the shootout. On Sunday, Eze returns to Selhurst Park a Premier League champion and that could be the defining point of this match, regardless of any competitive stakes.

Team news and probable line-ups

Arsenal enter this fixture with three confirmed absentees: Mikel Merino, Jurrien Timber and Ben White are all unavailable. Bukayo Saka, still managing a fragile fitness situation, could be rested ahead of the Champions League final.

The main question on Arsenal’s side concerns Eze himself: will the former Palace talisman play at Selhurst Park for the first time in red and white? Arteta is expected to give the 27-year-old some playing time, or at the very least a second half appearance, to allow the former fan favourite to acknowledge the supporters who adored him.

Probable Arsenal line-up (4-3-3): Kepa; Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapié, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Rice, Eze; Gyökeres, Martinelli, Trossard.

At Crystal Palace, the approach will be very different. Oliver Glasner is expected to protect his key players with Leipzig in mind. Chris Richards and Eddie Nketiah are ruled out. Maxence Lacroix, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta could all be omitted from the starting eleven in favour of less-used squad members, with the Conference League final taking clear priority.

Sunday will also mark Oliver Glasner’s final home match as Palace manager. The Austrian has confirmed his departure at the end of the season.

Probable Crystal Palace line-up (4-4-2): Henderson; Muñoz, Mitchell, Guéhi, Bogarde; Kamada, Johnson, Pino; Guessand, Mateta.

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The managers

Oliver Glasner is navigating an emotionally charged final week. The Austrian manager is leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the season, and this final home fixture feels like a farewell.

In his last pre-match press conference at Selhurst Park, Glasner acknowledged being in a reflective frame of mind.
Glasner’s legacy at Crystal Palace will be defined by the club’s European rise. After guiding the Eagles into the Conference League, he leaves them 90 minutes away from a first European trophy in their history.

Mikel Arteta, by contrast, approaches the match with a calm mind. The Spanish manager has achieved what many believed was beyond reach: returning Arsenal to the summit of English football after a 22-year wait. His attention is now fixed on the Champions League final against PSG.

Managing his squad before such a high-profile European appointment will be the real test of his week. Arteta does not want to lose a single player to injury in a match with minimal competitive significance.

Tactical preview

Crystal Palace under Glasner typically operate in a low block and hit opponents on the counter-attack, exploiting the pace of their wingers. With a rotated squad, that system should remain intact, though the replacement players are likely to be less sharp in those precise transitions.

The main vulnerability of a rotated Palace side will be in aerial duels and set pieces, two areas where Arsenal are particularly dangerous.

Arsenal are expected to line up in a 4-3-3 with Eze in a central attacking or playmaker role, flanked by wingers such as Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard. The pace and directness of that front line should be enough to create openings against a reshuffled Palace defence.

Arsenal’s principal weakness at this stage of the season will be concentration. With the trophy presentation as a backdrop and the Champions League final looming, keeping minds focused for the full 90 minutes will be Arteta’s tactical challenge.

For Palace, the key will be energy management. Concede as little as possible while avoiding injuries, keep things tidy, and head to Leipzig on Sunday evening or Monday morning: that is the real match plan.

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