London’s biggest clubs Chelsea and Arsenal will square up at Stamford Bridge this Sunday in the 61st edition of this Derby in the Premier League era.
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London)
Key Statistics
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 home games in all competitions (W7, D5).
The hosts have not kept a clean sheet in their last four games after keeping five in a row before that run.
They have not beaten Arsenal at home since August 2018 (D1, L2).
Arsenal are the only PL side to score in each of their matches this season.
The visitors are winless in their last two away games.
They have scored the second-highest number of goals in the league this season (30).
The Gunners have 15 clean sheets in 60 PL games against Chelsea. The Blues have 18 clean sheets in the same period.
Head to head
In 60 Premier League meetings between both sides, Chelsea have 20 wins while Arsenal have 23 wins (D17).
Latest performances in all competitions
Chelsea: W-L-W-D-D
Arsenal: W-W-L-D-W
Chelsea
After suffering their first loss under the Graham Potter era last time out in the league, Chelsea will look to quickly get back to winning ways when they welcome Premier League leaders and fierce rivals Arsenal to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were embarrassingly beaten at the Amex Stadium last Saturday in what was Graham Potter’s first return to his former stomping ground as Brighton ran out 4-1 winners on the day.
Goals from the in-form Leandro Trossard and Pascal Gross either side of two own goals by Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah plus a consolation goal by Kai Harvetz gave Brighton their first win over Chelsea in the Premier League and their first win under Roberto De Zerbi.
On the Blues’ side, the loss ended a run of nine games without defeat for Potter whose side now come into this tie residing outside the top five. The Englishman face arguably his biggest test of the season as they welcome an Arsenal side firing on all cylinders.
The Blues bounced back with a UEFA Champions League victory over Dinamo Zagreb, however, and they’ll be looking to follow that up with a first victory of the season over a ‘big six’ rival. Given that the game holds at Stamford Bridge, they will fancy their chances of getting a good result as they are undefeated this season at home.
However, beating Arsenal on home soil in the PL is something Chelsea haven’t managed since August 2018 (D1, L2 since), with no side in the competition’s history recording more victories over the Blues than the Gunners (23). In fact, the last team to beat Chelsea at home was Arsenal who ran out 4-2 winners the last time both sides met in April.
Possible Chelsea starting line-up
Edouard Mendy; Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Connor Gallagher, Marc Cucurella; Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Injured: Ngolo Kante, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga
Doubtful: Mateo Kovacic
Suspended: None
Arsenal
For Arsenal, they will make the short journey across the city in a buoyant mood, having dropped points in just three games across all competitions so far this season.
The Gunners come into this tie sitting atop the Premier League tree, with a two-point lead ahead of defending champions Manchester City. Having temporarily lost their position at the top last weekend because of fixture scheduling, they reasserted their position at the summit with a rampant 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in their last outing, with youngster Reiss Nelson coming off the bench in that game to grab a brace and an assist in a rampant second-half showing from the North London side.
Mikel Arteta’s men followed up that win with a narrow 1-0 win over FC Zurich in the Europa League last Thursday, ensuring that they finished top of their group. Arteta wasn’t completely happy with how his side performed in the game admitting that his side ‘didn’t control the game well enough’, even though they won.
The former Manchester City assistant boss will hope for an improved performance at the Bridge. With City ready to pounce on any errors, he will be wary of any slip-ups given all three of the Gunners’ winless matches have been on the road so far this season (D1, L2).
Possible Arsenal starting line-up
Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Martinelli; Gabriel Jesus.
Injured: Emile Smith-Rowe, Matt Turner
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
| Chelsea to win | Draw | Arsenal to win | |
| Odds | 2.62 | 3.40 | 2.60 |
| Probability (%) | 36 | 28 | 36 |
Prediction
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal
