Two of the top teams in the Premier League meet this weekend when Arsenal travel to face Chelsea on Sunday. It was a contrasting season for them last season, Arsenal missed out on a top four spot while Chelsea claimed the league title, something they are looking to challenge for again this season. Aside from an opening day blip at home to Burnley, Chelsea have looked strong so far and look set for another title challenge.
The same can’t be said about Arsenal, who have stumbled early in the season and as the battle of the top four gets even tougher, their chances of making it get less and less each game. These games are always great to watch, but potentially there is the biggest gap between these two that there has been for years and it is going to take a huge effort from Arsenal to overturn Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea v Arsenal
Premier League – Stamford Bridge, London – Sunday, 17 September, 13:30
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Draw Best Odd of: 3/1 at Ladbrokes |
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Chelsea
ArsenalChelsea Form
The opening day was tough for Chelsea, they were beaten 3-2 at home to Burnley in a game where they had two players sent off. That was not the ideal start for them, but since then things have gone much better. They have won their last three games to move them up to third in the league behind the two Manchester clubs, one point off the pace.
Chelsea looked in control in their other home game which was a 2-0 victory over Everton. That win was sandwiched by two good away performances, both resulting in 2-1 victories against Tottenham and Leicester. It may not have looked like it on the opening day, but what we have seen since has been vintage Chelsea.
In what is looking like being a thrilling title chase, Chelsea look sure to be involved this season and coming in as Champions they will not want to give up their crown easily.
Arsenal Form
Both on and off the field, Arsenal have faced problems this season and it has been a real rollercoaster ride for fans, even though we are only a few weeks into the season. They currently sit in 11th place with two wins and two losses from their opening four games, but it could have been much worse for them.
Arsenal were extremely lucky on the opening day of the Premier League season when they eventually won a 4-3 thriller against Leicester. They had played poorly in the game, especially defensively to be losing 3-2 with minutes left, until from nowhere they fought back to win the game.
Two defeats followed that game, away at Stoke and Liverpool, both games they looked poor and the pressure mounted on them. However, they did pick up a 3-0 victory last weekend against Bournemouth and that needs to be the start of something for them, before it is too late.
Team News
We saw the introduction of Eden Hazard last weekend as a substitute and now that he is back in the fold, he makes Chelsea a much better team. Due to injury he hasn’t played or trained much, so he may need a few games to get back to his best, but when he does I am hoping he finds some great chemistry with new striker Alvaro Morata. Should he do that, those two look set to lead the way in terms of goal scoring for Chelsea this season.
We saw a lot of speculation over the final few days of the transfer window that Alexis Sanchez would leave Arsenal, but he never did. We saw him play as a substitute last weekend and he also featured during their Europa League game on Thursday. He is vital to Arsenal and he must play for them as he is one of a few players that can help them escape the situation they are in.
Top Betting Tips
Although this clash is between two of the teams expected to be challenging at the top of the Premier League, I can only see one winner based on how the teams have been playing recently. That is Chelsea, who are available to back at 4/5 with Ladbrokes, Ladbrokes and Coral, a very fair price against an underperforming Arsenal team.
This is going to be such a tough game for Arsenal and I really can’t see them getting anything from the game, which will put even more pressure on them. I can only see a victory for Chelsea as they continue to build from their shock defeat at the start of the season and once again they look to be genuine title contenders.