An age-old London rivalry is re-ignited when Arsenal visits the bridge on Saturday evening! Chelsea have been up and down in the early exchanges of the season, whilst the Arsenal have started to find a bit of a foothold!
Chelsea vs Arsenal
Premier League
Saturday, 21 October – 18:30
Stamford Bridge
Chelsea
I know the international break would have somewhat disrupted momentum, but Chelsea will certainly want to continue building on their much-needed positive results before the break.
The Blues earned good wins over Burnley and Fulham but will know this is a far superior test. Chelsea have got to consolidate their wins with consistency if they are to see anything reflect on the leaderboard, but it’s difficult to know what Chelsea intends pitching up. They do not score nearly enough goals…
Mauricio Pochettino mentioned a few weeks back that Mudryk was doing extra sessions due to the attacker not finding the back of the net enough – I suppose we can say that worked. The Ukrainian has started to play with a bit more confidence and if he can stay fit, would be massive for Chelsea. The pace he possesses is unmatched, even more impressive that it does not suffer when the ball is at his feet.
Could he be the difference for his side on Saturday evening?
To Win Match
Chelsea 2/1 | Draw 24/10 | Arsenal 27/20
Arsenal
What a win for Arsenal over Manchester City! We haven’t really had a chance to praise them for it given the international break which abruptly brought it all to an end, but that was manic!
Looking at the Arsenal squad, you would assume that without some of their attacking weapons they become rather toothless, but they have arguably landed the biggest bite of the season so far.
Defensively Arsenal have been good, they close space so aggressively and squeeze teams in the final third…my only concern would have been confidence to close out games – but I’m not sure that’s a relevant comment anymore.
For me this game is won and lost during transition moments, and Arsenal have been superb at them. they turn defence into attack in a blink of an eye and the talent they have upfront can cause even the best of team’s problems.
Predicted Lineups:
Chelsea: Sanchez, Colwill, Silva, Disasi, Cucurella, Gallagher, Caicedo, Fernandez, Sterling, Broja, Palmer.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Magalhaes, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice, Jesus, Nketiah, Trossard.
Prediction: Arsenal (27/20)
Arsenal is playing impressive football; they are starting to dictate games from start to finish and boss possession of the football. I think they are too strong for a somewhat fragile Chelsea outfit and at 27/20 about the away win – I’m not sure you need to much more convincing.
I know the tone of this piece might suggest I’m bullish, but its more just I can’t see how Chelsea deal with wave after wave of Arsenal attack…no matter how tight the early engagements are.
