Monday, January 25, 3am AEDT, Emirates Stadium, watch on Fox Sports
Table position
Arsenal: Top
Chelsea: 14th
Season record
Arsenal: 13-5-4, 44 points
Chelsea: 6-7-9, 25 points
Last five games
Arsenal: DDWWL
Chelsea: DDWDD
THIS week’s match of the round is more about club prestige, rather than ladder position.
Chelsea ($3.70 with CrownBet.com.au) has had one of the more remarkable falls from grace the Premier League has ever seen, the reigning champion starting the season out as title favourite, only to find itself four points outside of the drop zone after 22 games.
Conversely, Arsenal ($2.07 with CrownBet.com.au) (Draw is $3.35 with the same bookie) is putting together its best season in recent memory and is a legitimate chance at winning it all for the first time since 2004.
They are top of the table and second favourite to win the title, at $2.60 with WilliamHill.com.au, behind Machester City at $1.95.
This match has even more bite, after the Diego Costa affair in September, when he raked his hands across defender Laurent Koscielny’s face and then chest bumped him to the ground and was rubbed out for three matches for violent conduct.
The Arsenal fans will give him no quarter if he manages to overcome a leg injury in this one.
Both of these teams, while sharing very different fortunes on the Premier League table, have some very comparable form over their past three, with a pair of draws for each of them following wins.
The Gunners were lacklustre in their 1-0 win over Newcastle United, the match winner coming in the 72nd minute courtesy of Laurent Koscielny.
They then headed to Anfield, where they basically snatched a draw from the jaws of victory when they allowed Liverpool substitute Joe Allen to fire in a dramatic last minute equaliser.
A double from Olivier Giroud and a goal to Aaron Ramsey were countered by Roberto Firmino’s brace and Allen’s heroics in the 3-3 draw.
Manager Arsene Wenger says his side should have won.
“I’m very disappointed but overall I cannot fault the effort and commitment of the team,” Wenger said.
“We had a difficult start. At 3-2, we should have made it 4-2 and didn’t make the right decision in final third and Liverpool fought until the last second.
”We went 1-0 down and then we started to play. We come out of the game with a lot of positive but still some regrets.“
He was similarly annoyed by the tame 0-0 result produced at Stoke a few days later, a performance unbecoming of a side that has designs on the Premier League title. But this might have been a good result, considering Stoke has beaten Chelsea, and the two Manchester sides on its home deck this season. It also put the Gunners back in top place, a position which they will defend with a win over Chelsea.
What on earth has happened to Chelsea? It’s hard to believe this is the same team that won the Premier League title from last season. But it is.
The Pensioners’ most recent win was more impressive than the Gunners, as they crushed Crystal Palace 3-0 on the back of goals to Oscar, Willian and Diego Costa.
They are on a six game unbeaten run, with two wins and four draws, following up the victory over Palace with high scoring draws at home to West Bromwich Albion (2-2) and Everton (3-3).
New manager Guus Hiddink is confident he too, will welcome back a star for the Gunners game, with Eden Hazard set to rejoin the line up from injury.
“We have to be a little bit careful that we don’t have another setback,” Hiddink said.
Hazard has not scored in 27 appearances for Chelsea this season and has been the subject of transfer rumours amid concerns he is unhappy at Stamford Bridge.
Possible teams
Arsenal: Peter Cech, Hector Bellerín, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Matthieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey, Joel Campbell, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud
Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta, John Obi Mikel, Cesc Fábregas, Willian, Oscar, Pedro, Diego Costa
Predictions
Match result: Arsenal wins ($2.05 with sportsbet.com.au)
Correct match score: Arsenal wins 3-1 ($15 with Sportsbet.com.au)
Total match goals: Over 2.5 ($1.93 with Sportsbet.com.au)
The over 2.5 total goals is a juicy $1.93 because three of the last four league meetings between these two sides at Arsenal have ended as 0-0 draws. But this is a new day. Despite Chelsea’s struggle on the points table, they club is still among the elite when it comes to scoring in front of the net. They have eight goals in their past three matches and, when you couple that with Arsenal’s 37 for the year, t just has a high scoring thriller written all over it. We reckon the Gunners might concede the first one, just as they did at Liverpool, before roaring back into it. Gun play maker Mesut Ozil is set to return after missing the weekend’s clash and his ability to set the table for his Arsenal compatriots will be treasured by the men in red. And they will need both he and Sanchez firing – they have not scored against Chelsea for a remarkable eight hours – that’s five straight matches. And they haven’t beaten Chelsea in the league since October 2011. That’s a long time between drinks, but we feel all that is about to change in the early hours of Monday morning.
First goal scorer predictions
Arsenal
Olivier Giroud ($6 with sportsbet.com.au)
Copped a ringing endorsement from none other than Arsenal legend Thierry Henry this week. The Gunners most revered player once reckoned Giroud wasn’t good enough to lead Arsenal to the title as its number one striker. But he has changed his tune and now says Giroud has found the consistency needed of a champion club’s spearhead. He has 12 goals in 16 Premier League starts this campaign and seems to score every time he sets foot on the pitch these days. Back him in against Chelsea.
Joel Campbell ($11 with Sportsbet.com.au)
This is a wait and see bet. If Sanchez does not end up starting, let’s jump on the young bloke. He still has much to learn about his craft, but, at 23, has done enough to impress Wenger and win a spot in his regular rotation. Found himself in the thick of it as injuries bit hard earlier this season and now he has made it a tough selection for Wenger. If he plays he will use his pace and agility to get in good spots up front and he is every chance of firing in first as the Gunners share it around in midfield.
Chelsea
Diego Costa ($7 with sportsbet.com.au)
He’s not a certain starter, so wait for the teams, but the $7 looks like serious value. The much maligned striker was almost out the door as he clashed with Mourinho. But he has become the main beneficiary of the Special One’s sacking, scoring five goals in five Chelsea appearances across all competitions under Guus Hiddink. He only had four in 21 matches before the managerial change. He will have to combat the Arsenal fans on his back all game after his previous indiscretions, but he should handle that well and is every chance of making it six in six under the new boss.
Pedro ($10 with sportsbet.com.au)
The marquee man was meant to be Chelsea’s saviour. But it just hasn’t worked out for the Blues this season. Touted as the next big thing in the Premier League after winning three titles with Spanish giant Barcelona, but he has just two goals and two assists in 22 matches for Chelsea and must do more to satisfy the fans. He is imperiously talented, but might be finding the Premier League a little tough. Let’s hope he can break the shackles against an Arsenal side that should play plenty of ball, giving him the chance to show his skills.
Suggested multi
Liverpool to beat Norwich ($1.91)
Tottenham to beat Crystal Palace ($2.10)
Manchester City to beat West Ham ($1.67)
Three leg multi pays $6.69 with Sportsbet.com.au
A little risky with three away games, but we’re super confident on both Tottenham and Manchester City, while we’re going with our gut instead of our heads on Liverpool. The woeful Reds have been an embarrassment in recent days, but they should be able to bounce back against the lowly Norwich, which has been whacked 3-1 and 3-0 in its last two outings. Palace is a tougher ask for Tottenham, but Spurs have been putting everyone away in their sneaky quest for the EPL title. They should be too good against a side that hasn’t even scored a Premier League goal in their past five matches, let alone won a game. City has the return to form of West Ham superstar Dimitri Payet to contend with, but they have about five Payets to call upon and should continue on their merry way, after five matches undefeated.
