Chelsea v Arsenal preview
Chelsea v Arsenal
Maurizio Sarri can win the battle of two new coaches, when his Chelsea side entertain Unai Emery’s Arsenal in Saturday’s London derby.
The Gunners have not won any of their last seven matches at Stamford Bridge and that sorry statistic looks set to continue this weekend.
Both teams have been outclassed by Manchester City already this season, but Arsenal showed little in their Premier League loss to Pep Guardiola’s team last weekend to suggest there will be an upturn in their fortunes now that Emery has replaced Arsene Wenger.
Chelsea 9.25 to beat Arsenal 1-0
In contrast Chelsea, after struggling to compete with City in the Community Shield, appeared to be coming to terms with Sarri’s style of play in the 3-0 demolition of a poor Huddersfield Town side last weekend.
Arsenal twice drew 0-0 at Stamford Bridge last season, in the Premier League and the EFL Cup, and Saturday’s encounter looks set to be another low-scoring clash with one goal possibly settling it.
Both London clubs are involved in the Europa League this season – Arsenal are 10.00 to win it while Chelsea can be backed at 7.50 – and there are fears that, as they are seemingly set for a period of transition, the Premier League title race will be fought out by the northern powerhouses of Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Indeed Saturday’s game could be an early indicator as to who is going to finish fourth this season – Chelsea are 1.66 to clinch a top-four spot, while Emery’s team are available at 2.90.
Willian 7.50 to score the first goal
A revitalised Willian, who has spoken of his pleasure at working under Sarri having suggested he would have left Stamford Bridge if Antonio Conte had remained as manager, can be the match-winner on Saturday.
Jorginho already looks a class act and could have an important part in play in Chelsea’s season, while N’Golo Kante can evolve into an even better player now, as it looks as though he will be asked to play further forward this term.
However, Alvaro Morata’s form remains a concern and the striker was once again disappointing against the Terriers. If Olivier Giroud is handed the chance to play against his former team, the Chelsea star is 2.40 to score at anytime in the game.
Arsenal 5.05 to keep a clean sheet
Arsenal have defensive worries heading into the derby clash as Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac remain injured and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who started at left-back against Manchester City, suffered a broken leg in the first half and faces a long-spell on the sidelines.
Stephan Lichtsteiner may be asked to fill in at left-back while Emery will have to decide whether to persevere with Petr Cech, who looked very shaky last weekend, or replace him with summer signing Bernd Leno.
It would be sad to see Cech fail to start against his former club but now could be the time to drop the 36-year-old goalkeeper and bring in Leno, who Emery signed from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer.
It was a surprise not to see Leno start against last season’s Premier League champions and his introduction to the team could boost a squad that looked strangely subdued last weekend.
