Chelsea-Arsenal is a match of the ninth day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 18:30: TV, probable formations, predictions.
The key match of the ninth day, although sticking to the current standings it is hard to talk about a direct clash. Arsenal, in fact, has been traveling on different tracks for some time now than a Chelsea that seems to be experiencing an unstoppable decline.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues, however, are on the rise: since their League Cup win against Brighton (1-0) they have not stopped, racking up three wins in a row for the first time this season. The Londoners’ latest “victims” were Fulham, beaten 2-0 at Craven Cottage, and newly promoted Burnley, annihilated 4-1 in their last match before the national team break. Six points that are pure oxygen both for the Argentine coach, whose bench had begun to burn, and for the standings: Chelsea remains in the right side but is now 11th, just one point behind Manchester United and -5 from the Europe zone. More generally, the team seems to have gained more confidence but especially Thiago Silva and his teammates are more decisive in goal unlike a few weeks ago.
Examination of maturity for the Blues
The London derby with Arsenal – not the most heartfelt but certainly the most prestigious, according to the two clubs’ palmares – will tell us more about this convalescent Chelsea.
Odegaard
The Gunners are fresh from a last-gasp victory in their direct clash with Manchester City, another small “revenge” for what happened last season, with the Cityzens getting the better of the title fight after a long domination of Mikel Arteta’s team. Arsenal took advantage of Pep Guardiola’s team’s bad moment to overtake them in the standings and keep pace with their Tottenham cousins, with whom they currently share the lead on 20 points. Six wins and two draws for the Gunners, who are unbeaten right along with Spurs.
The Prediction
At first glance we would say Arsenal, but Chelsea’s improvements, especially in the possession phase, are not to be underestimated. In any case, the Gunners have more certainties than Pochettino’s team and, above all, they have never lost in the last 15 London derbies (the last defeat was in May 2022) and will almost certainly avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge. Both should score at least once, while Chelsea could rack up the yellow cards: they are the team with the most after Tottenham.
The likely Chelsea-Arsenal lineups
- CHELSEA (4-3-3): Sanchez; Malo Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill; Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling.
- ARSENAL (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1