FOOTBALL

AUTHOR: James Dowen

STAR PREVIEW Weds: Chelsea v Arsenal

There are two English teams who look certain to play Champions League football next year but the battle to join Manchester City and Liverpool is a wide open one and Chelsea can take a big step towards sealing their top four place with victory over sixth placed Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners would have held high hopes for a top four finish when winning 1-0 at Aston Villa a month ago to make it six wins from seven games, but three straight defeats on the spin have handed the initiative to rivals Tottenham and Manchester United, who have taken advantage to leapfrog Arsenal.

The Gunners have a game in hand on both of them (and they’re level on points which Manchester United at the time of writing) but unless performances improve, then they’ve little hope of getting anything from Stamford Bridge.

Key injuries have not helped – Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney are both badly missed, while Alexandre Lacazette’s absence was felt against Southampton, who won for the first time since February despite losing the shot count 23-9.

The Saints have Fraser Forster to thank for their victory, as he made excellent saves from Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka in a world class display. However, Arsenal – who were admittedly improved from their dire displays against Crystal Palace and Brighton – were not sharp enough in front of goal and face a much tougher task here.

Chelsea v Arsenal
Premier League
19:45 Sky Sports Main Event HD / Sky Sports Premier League HD / Sky Sports Ultra HD

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
AUG 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea
MAY 2021 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal
AUG 2020 FA CUP FINAL Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
JAN 2020 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal
DEC 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
MAY 2019 EUROPA LEAGUE FINAL Chelsea 4-1 Arsenal
JAN 2019 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea
AUG 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Chelsea 3-2 Arsenal
JAN 2018 LEAGUE CUP Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
JAN 2018 LEAGUE CUP Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
JAN 2018 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea

Back-to-back defeats against Brentford and Real Madrid were a blow for Chelsea but Thomas Tuchel’s side have bounced back in commendable style since, with a 6-0 thrashing of Southampton followed up by a valiant 3-2 win at the Bernabeu and a 2-0 FA Cup semi-final win against Crystal Palace.

Chelsea were extremely professional in overcoming Palace’s stubborn resistance to reach another Wembley final and by the end of the game, Palace were lucky that the scoreline was just 2-0 after a dominant second half Chelsea display.

A sudden upturn in form for Ruben Loftus-Cheek has come at just the right time, whilst Reece James and Mason Mount have also been excellent in the past fortnight, and Chelsea look too strong for Arsenal, making them the bet for an important win.

WILLIAM KEDJANYI


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