Mikel Arteta has decided to name an unchanged side from the team that earned his first win as Arsenal head coach vs Manchester United.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returns to the side after illness kept him out of the FA Cup win over Leeds United.
Without much space for change, the back four remains untouched. Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be in for a tough test at right-back vs Wilfried Zaha but the youngster has excelled in his new inverted role.
Completing the defence alongside him will be Sokratis, David Luiz and Sead Kolasinac who has played well since returning from injury.
Kieran Tierney (shoulder) and Calum Chambers (knee ligament) are long-term absentees, the latter having been ruled out last week for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery.
Arteta has favoured using Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka as the double pivot in midfield and that will continue this afternoon. Xhaka in particular has stepped up since the Spaniard's arrival playing a key role in distributing the ball quickly and regaining possession in midfield.
In the Leeds victory, he was also tasked with bursting forward with the ball which could be seen again at Selhurst Park as his role evolves.
Aubameyang returns to an attacking quartet which also remains identical to the United game as Arteta looks to build momentum ahead of the second half of the season.
"At least we have some time to train with a few things that I wanted to start implementing," he said in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game.
"It's nice to have a few more players back as well from injuries and a bigger group where we cannot just be match, post-match, recovery, pre-match all the time so I am pleased. And when the weather is like this, it's even better.
"Every time I played there as a player, I suffered, it was always tough, it was a very competitive stadium."
Arsenal XI: Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac; Torreira, Xhaka; Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette
