Heading into the season, many expected this Sunday’s Arsenal-Chelsea clash to be a battle between Premier League title contenders. But while the Gunners have held up their end of the bargain by being joint-top of the table, wildly disappointing Chelsea have dropped so far down that they’re closer to the bottom three than the top four.
The Blues have no shot of successfully defending their title, but they should relish the chance to play spoiler to their rivals’ championship aspirations.
Read on below for our preview of Sunday’s London derby. Meanwhile, get ready for Sunday’s big NFL conference championship matchups with our previews of the Patriots vs. Broncos and Cardinals vs. Panthers.
[sc:Soccer ]Arsenal vs. Chelsea Preview
Where: Emirates Stadium, London
When: Sunday, January 24, 11:00 PM ET
Line: Arsenal -105 vs. Chelsea +257, tie +215; total 2.5 – view all EPL lines
Betting on Arsenal (13-5-4, 44 pts)
Arsenal have hit a bit of a rough patch away from home. They’ve now gone three league games without a win outside the Emirates after losing to Southampton 4-0 on Boxing Day and drawing back-to-back games against Liverpool (3-3) and Stoke (0-0).
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The good news for the Gunners, though, is that they’re coming back home. Since their opening day loss to West Ham, Arsenal have gone eight games unbeaten at the Emirates (seven wins, one draw) and have conceded just six goals, the second-best defensive record at home this season.
More importantly, they should have their two superstars – Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil – back and available for selection against Chelsea, according to manager Arsene Wenger.
Sanchez, who has been out since the end of November with a hamstring injury, will be a massive boost to the Arsenal attack. He’s scored six goals in 13 Premier League matches thus far, and can provide the speed and explosiveness that has given Chelsea’s defense problems all year long.
If Wenger opts not to start him right away, though, Olivier Giroud should be able to lead the line just fine. Giroud stepped up with nine goals in 10 matches without Sanchez, and scored a brace against Liverpool.
Ozil missed their most recent match against Stoke to rest up a lingering toe injury, but is all set to return to the starting 11. Ozil has been the driving force of Arsenal’s offense this season, and his 16 assists are almost twice as many as his closest competitor in the league.
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Betting on Chelsea (6-7-9, 25 pts)
The firing of Jose Mourinho and subsequent hiring of interim boss Guus Hiddink hasn’t exactly had the desired effect over at Stamford Bridge. Sure, the Blues are unbeaten in their last six in the league, but they have won just once in the five matches since Hiddink officially took over on Boxing Day.
The Blues have drawn the other four of those five matches under Hiddink, including their last two at home against West Brom (2-2) and Everton (3-3). They were a bit lucky to escape with a draw at Everton, though, as John Terry’s equalizer deep in stoppage time should have been flagged for offside.
On the bright side, Cesc Fabregas produced arguably his best performance of an otherwise disappointing season against Everton, and even scored his first goal of the campaign. Diego Costa also continued his recent hot streak by scoring his fifth goal in five games, but he picked up an injury and is a doubt to feature against Arsenal. Eden Hazard could be set to return, though, after missing the past couple weeks to a hip injury.
Still, the Hiddink-led Chelsea haven’t shown enough to think they are back on par with the best teams in the league. The defense, in particular, still has some gaping holes that a very talented side like Arsenal can exploit.
Chelsea’s attack has also been pretty unreliable, and could be even less effective if Costa misses out. The Blues have won just twice away from home in the league this season (2-3-5) and have scored just 11 goals.
Writer’s Prediction
Arsenal (-105) get back on track with a comfortable 2-0 win over Chelsea.
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