Arsenal will be looking to end their recent slump when they take on Chelsea in a huge London derby on Sunday afternoon. This is a huge game for Mikel Arteta and his side off the back of back-to-back losses. Their performance in Milan on Wednesday was far from poor, but it arrived at a bad time given the manner of last weekend’s sorry defeat at Newcastle.
Table of Contents
Match Preview
Mikel Arteta has an excellent record against the Blues, with Chelsea falling behind the Gunners in their previous ten meetings against their capital rivals. Thomas Tuchel was in charge for their most recent triumph in this fixture.
However, they head into the weekend’s bout in more positive mood than the Gunners, who have won just two of their previous six games in all competitions. Arteta’s side are struggling for goals, and they’ve lost their last two games 1-0. There were positives to take from Wednesday night’s defeat to Inter, though.
Team News
Cole Palmer was absent from Chelsea training in the week after he was caught late on by Lisandro Martinez in last Sunday’s draw at Old Trafford. However, Maresca is bullish on the England international’s chances of featuring on Sunday and it’d now be a surprise if the star playmaker didn’t start. The Blues otherwise have few injury concerns. Jadon Sancho is eligible to return on Sunday after he missed the trip to Man Utd, but the winger could be sidelined through injury. Marc Cucurella could return to the team and replace Malo Gusto. If the Spaniard is included, Reece James will start at right-back.
Reports suggest Declan Rice may have broken his toe last Saturday at St. James’ Park, but Arteta has not ruled the midfielder out of Sunday’s game and he may be prepared to play through the pain in order to start. Martin Odegaard made his long-awaited comeback from an ankle injury on Wednesday, but the Arsenal captain played just a few minutes in Milan and is unlikely to start at Stamford Bridge. Mikel Merino and Kai Havertz are both doubts, but the pair should be okay to feature. The latter suffered a nasty head injury late on against Inter. The visitors are still without full-backs Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney.
Possible Lineups
Chelsea IX: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Arsenal IX: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Trossard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Prediction
Chelsea have impressed against Manchester City and Liverpool, while they really should have beaten Manchester United. While the Gunners aren’t to be discounted, they have been poor of late.
We say Chelsea 1:1 Arsenal (Draw)
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