Chelsea vs Arsenal: Preview, predictions and lineups

A huge London derby beckons in the Premier League on Sunday with a win-needy Arsenal travelling to Chelsea.

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.

Chelsea cruised to an 8-0 thumping of Armenian minnows Noah in the Conference League on Thursday with Enzo Maresca once again heavily rotating his side. They missed an opportunity to secure a rare win at Manchester United last weekend, settling for a 1-1 draw, but they’re ahead of Sunday’s opponents in the Premier League table on goal difference.

Defeat for Arsenal here and many will be writing off their title challenge.

Here is 90min’s guide to Sunday’s London derby.

Chelsea vs Arsenal H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

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.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.

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.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Chelsea (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Trossard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.

We’re just ten games into the new Premier League season, yet this already feels like must-win territory for Arsenal, who are ten points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.

The Gunners’ recent record against Chelsea combined with their encouraging but toothless display in midweek should supply them with some optimism heading into this fixture, but their recent lack of winning means they’re going to have grind it out big time if they’re to triumph in west London.

The Blues, who should have Palmer available, will be desperate to pounce on a vulnerable Gunners team, but they remain a work-in-progress with Maresca at the helm. Last weekend’s draw at Old Trafford proved that.

This contest could go either way, so we’ll sit on the fence and back a repeat of last season’s result at the Bridge.

Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Arsenal

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