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Chelsea will look to kick on after the international break by avoiding another Premier League defeat to their fierce London rivals.
Arsenal aim to continue their impressive start to the 2023/24 season with a morale-boosting victory over Chelsea when they lock horns in a hotly-contested London Derby. The Gunners have been nothing short of brilliant and their most recent win against Manchester City – after 12 attempts was indeed a statement win about their ambitions this season.
Arsenal are now joint top-of-the-table, alongside North London rivals and coincidentally, both teams remain unbeaten as at the time of writing.
Elsewhere, Chelsea put on an insipid attacking display as they lost the corresponding fixture 1-0 at Stamford Bridge last season thanks to a goal from Gabriel Magalhães. Now, they will be looking for a good performance and result.
The Blues have had solid performances throughout the season but the results haven’t matched those showings. Chelsea drew, lost and won each of their first three games against Liverpool, West Ham United and Luton Town as the task became glaring for new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Things became even more complicated when a young squad made up of mostly new players then lost their next league game 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Indeed, the negativity surrounding the club failed to dissipate when their first two games following the September international break ended 0-0 and 0-1 to Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
Chelsea found reprieve with their backs against the wall in the Carabao Cup third round tie against Brighton and they built on that win with a first away victory of the season against Fulham courtesy of Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja.
Another 4-1 win against Burnley means Chelsea have hit form at the right time, ahead of hosting Mikel Arteta’s side immediately after the international window. Pertinently, Chelsea have beaten an Arsenal side coached by the Spaniard only twice in the Premier League.
A good performance and subsequent result against the title challengers can act as a catalyst for Pochettino’s young side who are slowly gathering confidence and recovering injured key players.
For the visitors, this is a chance to emphasize their recent dominance of this fixture as they look to improve on last season’s fortunes when they finished runners-up in the league.
Arsenal’s squad has been improved in key areas over the summer as confidence is rife at the Emirates Stadium. As of the time of writing, they are unbeaten after seven Premier League games.
Arteta’s men began their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Nottingham Forest as four more points were registered against Crystal Palace and Fulham. However, the 3-1 home win over Manchester United proved a notable moment in their campaign so far.
A win at Goodison Park and a draw in the North London Derby further strengthened their self-belief while thrashing Bournemouth 4-0 was the perfect preparation before that massive win against City before the international break.
Hence, they will be looking to build on a statement win when they travel to West London.
A game at Stamford Bridge is not as daunting as in previous years with Arsenal winning five of the last six editions of this fixture having clinched a third successive Premier League victory against Chelsea for the first time ever.
This game is likely to be feisty given the circumstances and both teams’ style of play. Arsenal will press the opposition’s backline and look to put them under pressure while Pochettino’s side will similarly go all out which will delight the home crowd.
A tactical spectacle full of sensational attacking play awaits
Match tickets
This game is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 21, kicking off at 5:30 PM UK time. Tickets for the huge derby clash are available on sale via the website of each club but Stamford Bridge should be full to the brim for this one.
Chelsea’s audacious new project has had several bumps along the way but they are showing signs of building team chemistry and will be backed by a raucous support. Arsenal are also playing their best football in decades and fans will not miss this big game for anything.
Supporters without a season ticket are unlikely to find Chelsea vs Arsenal tickets through official sources but they may be lucky to get one on a ticket resale site.
Team news
Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell and Marcus Bettinelli will definitely miss this derby but Chelsea may be relieved to welcome back Reece James, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah from injuries while Malo Gusto is also available for selection after serving his three-game suspension.
This means Marc Cucurella will revert to contention for the left-back spot after impressively filling in on the opposite flank.
Leandro Trossard, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice have recently escaped serious injuries as Gabriel Martinelli also made his return to the pitch against City. Although Jurrien Timber is out with an ACL rupture, his recovery is well on course after surgery and he will reportedly make a return by early 2024.
Elsewhere, Thomas Partey has returned to the squad alongside Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares.
Line-ups
Gusto should start at right-back as Chelsea carefully reintegrate James following yet another muscle injury. Meanwhile, Levi Colwill is expected to continue at left-back
Further forward, Raheem Sterling will be eyeing a start after missing yet another England call-up and Pochettino will hope to retain Cole Palmer or Mykhailo Mudryk for continuity in the attacking midfield spots
Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Caicedo, Fernandes; Sterling Gallagher, Mudryk; Jackson
Gabriel Jesus will hope to start ahead of Eddie Nketiah while Leandro Trossard could also play from the off with his performances this season warranting far more playing time.
Kai Havertz returns to his former club and will also be desperate to perform for the Gunners where he is yet to fully win over all the fans
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Magalhaes, Zinchenko; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Gabriel, Trossard
Prediction
The Blues have created 2.43 chances per match compared to Arsenal’s 1.43 yet they have scored eight goals less than the Gunners. Chelsea’s immaturity and lack of killer instinct could well haunt them but they will be giving this a good go and hoping to force mistakes from the Gunners
Arsenal have the psychological upper hand considering their winning streak against Chelsea and they will be banking on that belief at SW6. An entertaining Premier League contest awaits.
Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
