- Crystal Palace U21 are undervalued favourites for this clash at 109/100, with Arsenal U21 not far behind them at 177/100.
- Both teams to score is 7/20, a price which represents little value given the recent history of this fixture.
- Over 2.5 goals is priced up at 9/25 and looks to be the best bet for Monday’s London derby.
Selhurst Park clash represents a clash of philosophies
The Crystal Palace U21 are in slight decline after a 2-2 draw against Wolves U21, followed by a shock 5-1 win at Liverpool U21 and a 2-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest U21.
Palace U21 sit 13th in the table with 28 points from 19 games, one point behind Arsenal U21 who are 11th in the same section of the table. The 29 points picked up by the visitors in 19 games tell you all you need to know about how close these two sides are in the league standings.
Palace U21 have won four, drawn three and lost two of their nine home games in the Premier League 2 this season, so they are in slightly worse form at Selhurst Park, failing to win either of their last two (D1, L1).
Arsenal have left their mark on U21s
Mehmet Ali has instilled his identity on his Arsenal U21 side, who play a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation and focus on playing possession-based football in a structured way, similar to the first-team. They are also set up to press high and win the ball back quickly.
The Gunners are in mixed form, winning one, drawing one and losing three of their last five matches. They lost 3-1 away to Sunderland U21 before bouncing back with a 1-0 home win over West Brom U21 last time out.
Arsenal’s away form in the PL2 has been mixed, winning three, drawing three and losing three of their 9 trips this season, failing to pick up a win in either of their last two.
Palace U21 to punish The Gunners’ high-line
Palace have scored 19 goals in 9 home games this term and can be dangerous at home when they are on form. Their pragmatic playing style, which revolves around being compact and making fast transitions, could be very effective against an Arsenal side who leave a lot of space behind when pressing high.
The last meeting between these two at Selhurst Park finished 2-2, while Palace have won one of the last two meetings between the sides and Arsenal U21 are yet to beat them. The hosts are slight favourites at 109/100, but I feel they are underrated for this one, while Arsenal are also very close behind them at 177/100.
These clubs are very evenly matched in both the league table and recent form and I can see this game going either way, with Over 2.5 goals at 9/25 my main selection and a Palace home win looking the most likely result in a high-scoring draw.
