Chelsea welcome London rivals Arsenal to Stamford Bridge in a bid to consolidate third place in the Premier League.
Second-half goals for Cobham graduates Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek saw Thomas Tuchel’s side break CrystalPalace’s resistance in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final, with the Blues facing Liverpool for the second time in a domestic cup final this campaign.
The Blues have somewhat successfully proved that their minor blip from the start of the month was indeed just a minor blip, with a 6-0 thumping of Southampton also seeing them cement their top-three push in the Premier League table – five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur with two games in hand.
Back-to-back home defeats to Brentford and Real Madrid could yet lead to a sense of apprehension creeping in among the Stamford Bridge fanbase ahead of Wednesday’s game, especially seeing as they have only won half of their home league games this season – the eighth-best record in the league.
Not since 1993 have Chelsea suffered a trio of consecutive defeats on their own turf in all competitions, althoughintriguingly that third defeat in that sequence did come against Arsenal, who will undoubtedly need history to be on their side this week amid their alarming downturn in fortunes.
The Visitors – Arsenal :
Zero points and just one goal scored against Crystal Palace, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton has not only threatened Arsenal’s top-four dreams, but their hopes of European football at all. Arteta’s side, after a vastly improved winter period, have now slipped to sixth in the Premier League and remain three points adrift of Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand following their own defeat to the Seagulls.
The Gunners are waiting on the fitness of Alexandre Lacazette and Takehiro Tomiyasu, whilst Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey will definitely miss out.
These injuries have coincided with Arsenal’s slump in form – Arteta seemingly struggling to cover the vacant left-back position whilst safeguarding stability in midfield. The Gunners remain easy on the eye however, and Chelsea will hope there is not a repeat of last season’s meeting at Stamford Bridge when Arsenal defied the form books to snatch a 1-0 win.
The Blues eased to a 2-0 win on the Emirates turf in the second gameweek of the 2021-22 Premier League season, but Arsenal have avoided defeat in their last two trips to Stamford Bridge and can be something of a bogey team for the Blues, whose last league double over the Gunners came back in the 2015-16 campaign.
What about Chelsea? :
Matteo Kovacic will miss the next two weeks with an ankle ligament injury and will not feature on Wednesday, alongside Ben Chilwell and Hudson Odoi.
Chelsea looked fatigued against Crystal Palace on Sunday and will have to be at their best to overcome this spirited Arsenal side, who have shown their ability to go toe-to-toe with the best sides in the division with their performances against Manchester City and Liverpool earlier in the year.
The game also represents the first match in which Stamford Bridge is legally not permitted to sell home match tickets – could these adverse conditions potentially hamper the Blues against their London rivals?
Expect a similar team to the one that started Sunday’s contest at Wembley – with the invigorated Loftus Cheek coming in for Kovacic.
Predicted Line-up (3-4-3): Mendy; James, Silva, Rüdiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Loftus-Cheek, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Werner.
My prediction is Prediction: 1-1 :
A draw should be enough to see off any push for third for Mikel Arteta’s men, who would remain eight points adrift of Chelsea having played a game more.
