Arsenal face a tricky trip to Chelsea on Wednesday in their bid to reverse a run of three consecutive Premier League defeats. The Blues, buoyed by booking their place in the FA Cup final on the weekend, enjoy an eight-point gap over those chasing a top-four finish and can effectively seal their qualification to next season’s Champions League with a win.
Romelu Lukaku and Reece James struck in a convincing 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture across the capital, ending Arsenal’s three-game winning streak in this particular derby. Now it is the Gunners in need of a turnaround having slipped to sixth place as the pressure of the run-in continues to crank up.
Arsenal are in a dire fight with Tottenham Hotspur for the last Champions League spot, but three defeats in a row, including falling to Brighton at home, are not going to help. They really need to win this game to stay in the fight.
Form Guide: Arsenal
Arsenal are struggling and have lost form at a very crucial period that they are no longer top four favorites. They’ve lost each of their last three matches and four of the last five, in effect, dropping from fourth to sixth in the league standings. A run of just one clean sheet in their last five matches, and having failed to score in three of their last five matches doesn’t inspire a lot of hope for the Gunners’ fans.
A tough run of matches awaits them and from the performance in the last three matches, a top-four slot seems too far now. Arsenal have scored two goals in the last five league matches and they go into this game from back to back defeats away from home.
Form Guide: Chelsea
Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount’s composed finishes in the second half saw Chelsea break the Palace resistance in their FA Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon, with the Blues facing Liverpool for the second time in a domestic cup final this term as they seek vengeance for their EFL Cup penalty heartache.
Tuchel’s side has successfully proved that their slump from the start of the month was indeed just a minor blip, with a 6-0 thumping of Southampton also seeing them cement their third-placed position in the Premier League table – five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur with two games in hand.
How the match could go
Chelsea have not always produced the goods against Arsenal consistently down the years, but the respective squad depths and confidence of the two sides will certainly come into play here.
Arteta’s side have lost their golden touch in front of the goal since the international break, and the Spaniard’s system is far less effective when his first-choice XI is not all there, so we can only picture Tuchel’s side running out comfortable winners via another two-goal margin.
Chelsea will also be seeking to complete a league double-over Arsenal following a 2-0 victory at Emirates Stadium in August.
Betting Predictions
Chelsea to win
Arsenal are coming from a very poor run and they will struggle against their London rivals. The last few matches have exposed Arsenal and Chelsea will definitely have a way of exploiting them. The Gunners’ last three matches have been highlighted by poor starts, and they’ve gone on to trail at halftime. Chelsea haven’t trailed at the break in four of their last five matches and here we are backing them to go to halftime leading. We are backing Chelsea to take home all three points in today’s encounter. Bet9ja have 1.88 odds, while 1xbet have 1.90, and Paripesa have 1.90 odds.
Under 2.5 Goals
Just like any derby in the world, the London Derby is really tough to predict. However, based on the fact that Chelsea are out of Europe and are sitting comfortably in third place, it is Arsenal that needs this win more. We are looking at a caged affair here with both sides not wanting to let in any goals as their defensive frailties have been shown in recent game weeks. We have predicted an under 2.5 goal count here because of this. Bet9ja have 2.04 odds, while Paripesa have 2.09 and 1xbet have 2.09 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Arsenal)
Bukayo Saka
He has the joint-most goals for Arsenal in all competitions and he would be the one to drive the attack as the Gunners seek a point here to keep their champions league hopes alive. Has not been involved in any goals in the past three games and Arsenal coincidentally lost those three games too. He is a player who loves this fixture and has always produced good moments against Chelsea and we predict him to try and score a goal here. Bet9ja have 5.50 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 26.50 odds for him to score.
Gabriel Martinelli
Another forward who seems to like this fixture and face this Chelsea side is Martinelli. He has not been involved in any goals since his return from injury but he has shown glimpses of the form he had before that and he has played relatively well in that period. He could be the tie’s difference today and could go on the scoreboard in this very unpredictable fixture. Bet9ja have 4.75 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 4.50 odds for him to score.
Anytime Goalscorer (Chelsea)
Timo Werner
The German striker has taken into his stride a streak of impressive games in the club. He has been involved in goals in his last three matches, scoring three and assisting two in that period. He just hit double-figure goals and he would be placed in the starting lineup here due to his form. We can predict him to nick one or two goals while running at this Arsenal defense. Bet9ja have 3.40 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.50 odds for him to score.
Mason Mount
Mason Mount is arguably the best player in this Chelsea squad with his string of impressive performances. He has scored four goals in his previous three matches in all competitions and he also assisted two goals in that period. He is the front runner for goals in this Chelsea team and he has shown that he can create magic from nothing which is why we have him included here in today’s goalscorers tips. Bet9ja have 3.20 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 3.50 odds for him to score.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
