The Premier League will serve us with an epic lunchtime derby this weekend as leaders Chelsea welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge. The Blues have been in scintillating form this term and can make a real statement with a victory over the Gunners in west London.
Both teams had contrasting results in the midweek fixtures as the Gunners surprisingly lost 2-1 to Watford at the Emirates Stadium, leaving them nine points behind Chelsea, who picked up a valuable draw at Liverpool.
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Arsene Wenger’s men won the reverse fixture 3-0 early in the season with the game being the turning point in the Blues’ impressive campaign so far.
It is certain that Antonio Conte’s men will be looking for revenge on their London neighbours.
Here are the FIVE reasons why Conte’s men will defeat the Gunners;
Chelsea’s Home Form
The Blues have been absolutely sensational at the Bridge this term, winning ten of the eleven games they have played so far. The one loss they suffered came in the first-half of the season, a 2-1 defeat to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Chelsea have already beaten the likes of Leicester (3-0), Manchester United (4-0), Everton (5-0) at home this season, as well as notching a 2-1 win over second-place Tottenham. Even in games against West Brom and Hull where the Conte’s men performed below their usual standard, they still manage to get the results.
Arsenal will surely be wary of the qualities in the Blues’ ranks, and with Chelsea in champions-elect form, it will be difficult for the north London side to get any result other than a defeat.
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Arsenal’s Big game issues
Unlike the Blues, who know how to get results against their rivals, the Gunners in past seasons have been found wanting on countless times with the lack of big game mentality being one of the reasons they have failed to win the league title in over ten years. They usually have no problem beating the average sides in the league, but that cannot be said about games against their title rivals.
This season, the story has been the same again as the Gunners started their campaign with a thrilling 4-3 loss to Liverpool at the Emirates. The Gunners’ record over the top six this term currently stands one win, two draws and three defeats.
The one triumph was the 3-0 win over Chelsea during the first half of the season. It’s also important to note that Wenger’s men have won just five league games against the Blues in the last ten years, losing eleven in the process. It says a lot about the dominance the west London club have had over their capital rivals.
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The Defence
The change by Antonio Conte to his favoured back three has been a masterstroke so far this term. Interestingly, it was in the second-half of the reverse fixture at the Emirates that the Italian made the switch.
Since then, the Blues have made themselves very hard to beat, conceding just seven goals in their last 16 league games as well as keeping 13 clean sheets this season. The likes of David Luiz, Gary Cahill and the highly impressive Cesar Azpilicueta, along with N’Golo Kante, have formed a unit admired across Europe.
It will certainly take a masterclass display from Alexis Sanchez and co to be able to breach Chelsea’s solidity at the back.
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Diego Costa
The Spanish striker has been receiving all off the plaudits so far this term after putting in a large number of impressive performances. Arguably the best player in the league, the 28-year-old has scored against 13 of the 18 teams he has faced this term.
The Ex-Atletico Madrid man is filling the void left by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba by currently topping the scoring chart, alongside Alexis Sanchez, with 15 goals so far. The Arsenal nemesis may have gone but Costa is gradually developing into that kind of player with the Spaniard scoring two of the last five goals the Blues have netted against the Gunners in the five league games.
The likes of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi will have their hands full on Saturday and will have to deliver a far more solid display to stand a chance of nullifying the Brazilian-born Spanish International.
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Arsenal Pressure
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson often says that the Gunners are the best team in the world when playing under little or no pressure. But as we have come to know in the past seasons, the north Londoners tend to create problems for themselves and stumble thereafter.
The 2-1 home loss to Watford on Tuesday was the latest slap in the face for the Gunners as they failed to take advantage of Chelsea’s draw with Liverpool. With that in mind, Arsenal are tasked with trying to get a win from the game so as not to lose further ground in the title race as well as not to allowing their top four rivals like Manchester City and Manchester United move ahead of them in the table.
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