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Preview: First meets third as Arsenal visit London rivals Chelsea

Preview: First meets third as Arsenal visit London rivals Chelsea

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Both sides arrive on a high after huge midweek Champions League wins, as league leaders Arsenal head to second-placed Chelsea in the weekend’s headline clash, looking to pull further away from the pack.

By Alex Roberts

Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday was easily their best performance since the summer’s Club World Cup final. The score line flattered Hansi Flick’s side with Chelsea having four goals disallowed for various reasons.

Not wanting to be outdone, Arsenal may well have cemented their position as the best side in Europe with a stunningly comfortable 3-1 win over Bayern Munich a day later.

Are Chelsea title contenders?

We guess we’ll found out today. Chelsea are probably the best attacking side in the Premier League at the moment. Enzo Maresca’s side lead the way in terms of xG (22.5), shots on target per 90 (5.6), and big chances created (39).

They’re not too bad defensively either. Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets than Chelsea’s six, while the West Londoners also top the charts for interceptions per 90 (10.8). They can thank Moisés Caicedo for that.

Still, the huge caveat is that Chelsea have faced Graham Potter’s West Ham, Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest, and Vítor Pereira’s Wolves in their opening 12 games. This one will be a tougher test.

The top six before Sunday’s games

No set piece no problem

Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces is well known, but in the 4-1 win over Tottenham in the first North London derby of the season last time out, Mikel Arteta’s side proved that’s not the only facet of their attacking game.

Eberechi Eze’s hattrick stole the show. It felt like a full circle moment for a player that was released by Arsenal as a kid and then turned Tottenham down to return to the Gunners, but that’s another story.

Despite the win, Arteta said afterwards that he was ‘upset’ that Arsenal didn’t score from a set piece in the win over Spurs, and it was honestly hard to tell whether he was joking or not. The man has a sickness!

Team news

Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer is fit after fracturing a toe while at home just before he was meant to return for the win over Burnley. The Italian will be hoping his star man is back for good now, but who knows, maybe he’ll trap his hand in the fridge door at some point next week.

The hosts will still be without Levi Colwill (knee), Roméo Lavia (thigh), and Dário Essugo (thigh), with none of them likely to be back any time soon.

As for Arsenal, Gabriel (thigh) will be a huge miss, even if they managed just fine without him for the wins over Spurs and Bayern. Leandro Trossard is the latest member of their walking wounded after the winger picked up a knock midweek.

Viktor Gyökeres (hamstring) and Kai Havertz (knee) are also out. Gabriel Jesus is back in training after his ACL injury, but this game has come a bit too soon for him to feature.

For more graphics like this, check out @fotmobapp on Instagram

Prediction

Chelsea look good at the moment, but we reckon Arsenal are just a bit too strong for them, so we’re going with a 2-1 win for the visitors.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: First meets third as Arsenal visit London rivals Chelsea

Both sides arrive on a high after huge midweek Champions League wins, as league leaders Arsenal head to second-placed Chelsea in the weekend’s headline clash, looking to pull further away from the pack.

By Alex Roberts

Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday was easily their best performance since the summer’s Club World Cup final. The score line flattered Hansi Flick’s side with Chelsea having four goals disallowed for various reasons.

Not wanting to be outdone, Arsenal may well have cemented their position as the best side in Europe with a stunningly comfortable 3-1 win over Bayern Munich a day later.

Are Chelsea title contenders?

We guess we’ll found out today. Chelsea are probably the best attacking side in the Premier League at the moment. Enzo Maresca’s side lead the way in terms of xG (22.5), shots on target per 90 (5.6), and big chances created (39).

They’re not too bad defensively either. Only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets than Chelsea’s six, while the West Londoners also top the charts for interceptions per 90 (10.8). They can thank Moisés Caicedo for that.

Still, the huge caveat is that Chelsea have faced Graham Potter’s West Ham, Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest, and Vítor Pereira’s Wolves in their opening 12 games. This one will be a tougher test.

The top six before Sunday’s games

No set piece no problem

Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces is well known, but in the 4-1 win over Tottenham in the first North London derby of the season last time out, Mikel Arteta’s side proved that’s not the only facet of their attacking game.

Eberechi Eze’s hattrick stole the show. It felt like a full circle moment for a player that was released by Arsenal as a kid and then turned Tottenham down to return to the Gunners, but that’s another story.

Despite the win, Arteta said afterwards that he was ‘upset’ that Arsenal didn’t score from a set piece in the win over Spurs, and it was honestly hard to tell whether he was joking or not. The man has a sickness!

Team news

Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer is fit after fracturing a toe while at home just before he was meant to return for the win over Burnley. The Italian will be hoping his star man is back for good now, but who knows, maybe he’ll trap his hand in the fridge door at some point next week.

The hosts will still be without Levi Colwill (knee), Roméo Lavia (thigh), and Dário Essugo (thigh), with none of them likely to be back any time soon.

As for Arsenal, Gabriel (thigh) will be a huge miss, even if they managed just fine without him for the wins over Spurs and Bayern. Leandro Trossard is the latest member of their walking wounded after the winger picked up a knock midweek.

Viktor Gyökeres (hamstring) and Kai Havertz (knee) are also out. Gabriel Jesus is back in training after his ACL injury, but this game has come a bit too soon for him to feature.

For more graphics like this, check out @fotmobapp on Instagram

Prediction

Chelsea look good at the moment, but we reckon Arsenal are just a bit too strong for them, so we’re going with a 2-1 win for the visitors.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.