Chelsea make the short trip across London this weekend to face their rivals Arsenal.
Arsenal host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, which is a game between second versus fourth in the division table.
In the reverse fixture, the Blues recorded a 1-1 draw against the Gunners last November. Remarkably, if Enzo Maresca’s side beat Arsenal on Sunday, they’ll move to only three points behind them.
An early piece of team news is that Robert Sanchez will start against Arsenal as head coach Maresca confirmed he’s regained the number one position at the expense of Filip Jorgensen.
It would be great for Chelsea to sign off before March’s international break with a win because it’s a long wait until their next fixture.
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton predict Arsenal vs Chelsea
Paul Merson has predicted a home win for Arsenal over Chelsea on Sunday, claiming that the latter aren’t playing well enough right now.
Merson told Sportskeeda: “What do I even say about Chelsea? They bored Leicester into submission last weekend! The way they are playing, I don’t see how they can beat Arsenal here…
“Arsenal need to win this game. A defeat to Chelsea would pull the Gunners back into the race to finish in the top four…
“Chelsea are a better team when Cole Palmer is firing, but without Nicolas Jackson he has struggled. I expect Palmer to find more space to operate in during this game, but I’m not sure Chelsea have enough to trouble Arsenal… Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea.”
Similarly, Chris Sutton is tipping Chelsea to lose when they travel to North London on the weekend.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “There won’t be many goals in this game – one goal might be enough to win it, and I am going with Arsenal to get it. Declan Rice was very lively in his new attacking role against Manchester United and I can see him scoring again here.
“Chelsea have flattered to deceive in recent weeks. They have won their past two league games, but they were against Southampton and Leicester. This is a much bigger test. Sutton’s prediction: 1-0.”
Arsenal winger Raheem Sterling, who’s on loan from Chelsea this season, is one man who’s unavailable to play against his parent club. Interestingly, Sterling feels happy at Arsenal, compared to at Chelsea where he felt isolated.
Even though the Gunners will be without the likes of Sterling, Kai Havertz and Bukayo from their attack this weekend, it’s worth noting that they just beat PSV Eindhoven 9-3 on aggregate to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Chelsea’s away form needs to improve
In the Premier League this season, Chelsea have been far stronger at home than on the road.
| Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals scored | Goals conceded | Points |
| 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 15 | 28 |
| Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals scored | Goals conceded | Points |
| 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 21 |
If the Blues want to seal Champions League qualification, they may need to improve their away form.
On paper, it’s pretty daunting that Chelsea still need to travel to Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest this season.
