The curtain raiser for the upcoming Premier League campaign takes place at Wembley on Sunday, with London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea facing off against each other once more. With Chelsea having won the Premier League title under new manager Antonio Conte, and the Gunners rescuing their season with an FA Cup success, there could well be fireworks at the home of football. With the match providing plenty of punters with their first competitive football action of the new season, a whole host of bets are expected over the weekend. As a result, let’s take a look at the two teams in order to help you formulate an opinion, as well as our top betting tip to take advantage of.
Arsenal
With Arsene Wenger’s future now having been resolved, Arsenal are looking to mount a title challenge this season. With both Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez both seemingly set to stay at the Emirates, at least for the time being, along with the addition of French striker Alexandre Lacazette, expectations are once again high in North London.#
However, having finished 18 points behind Sunday’s opponents last time around, there is plenty of work to be done ahead of the new season. Arsenal faced Chelsea in a pre-season friendly just a matter of weeks ago, coming off second best in a 3-0 victory for the Blues. Having also struggled against Sevilla during the Emirates Cup on Sunday, the Gunners are undoubtedly the underdogs heading to Wembley.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s pre-season form has been inconsistent, with their victory over Arsenal being followed up by defeats at the hands of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. Chelsea have added the likes of Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoué Bakayoko to their playing squad over the summer, with manager Conte reportedly still frustrated at missing out on Romelu Lukaku.
Bakayoko and star man Eden Hazard are both out of Sunday’s encounter through injury, with last season’s top scorer, Diego Costa, not part of Chelsea’s plans this season. Meanwhile, Victor Moses will miss out on the match thanks to his red card in May.
Top Betting Tip
Despite not being considered as a major trophy by many, motivation will be high at Wembley on Sunday, with neither side looking to go into the new Premier League season following a defeat by one of their fiercest rivals. Chelsea have generally got the better of Arsenal over recent times, with last season’s FA Cup Final being an exception, and with Alexis Sanchez missing out for the Gunners, our top betting tip is to back the Blues to win. This can be found at best odds of 11/10 at bookmakers 10Bet.