Chelsea vs. Arsenal Preview

Chelsea and Arsenal meet at Stamford Bridge in one of the Premier Leagues early kick-off.

Chelsea were in good form before last weekends 1-0 defeat at QPR. And Arsenal’s form has improved in times. This will certainly be an interesting one.

Awful

Arsenal endured an awful start to the season. However their form has improved in recent weeks and the Gunners have dragged themselves up to seventh place in the Premier League, not exactly heady heights but a big improvement on their early season positions in the bottom half of the Premier League.

Good

Chelsea have made a relatively good start to their campaign under new Andre Villas-Boas. The Portuguese boss has brought a freshness to the Blues team which was missing last season. The signing of Spanish playmaker Juan Mata was a masterstroke.

Last weekends defeat was a mere blip I suggest and Chelsea will come back stronger from the defeat. It was just a bad day at the office for Villas-Boas and his team. The Blues bounced back with a midweek Carling Cup victory at Everton.

Favourites

Chelsea have to go into this encounter as favourites and rightly so. In previous seasons it would have been tighter to call who the favourites were, but not this season. Even though Arsenal’s form has improved they are still unpredictable and poor at the back.

I don’t think anybody could say that Chelsea will win this game easily but I don’t think there is that many neutrals out there backing the Gunners to claim victory at the Bridge today. I think a point would be a decent result for Arsenal.

However if they could get a win at Stamford Bridge it would give the team and fans a really big confidence boost. They could really start believing in their once again.

Teams

Chelsea go into this game without suspended striker Didier Drogba, who was dismissed against QPR last weekend. However they can welcome back full-backs Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole after they served their bans.

Striker Fernando Torres is likely to return in place of Didier Drogba with the Spaniard now available after serving a three match ban. The Blues are however without midfield pair Ramires and Michael Essien, who has a long-term injury.

Arsenal will have defender Thomas Vermaelen in their starting line-up, despite the Belgian defender picking up a slight calf injury in the Gunners midweek Carling Cup defeat of Bolton. Defender Carl Jenkinson is also a doubt.

South Korean striker Park Chu-young could be given his chance after playing well against Bolton. The Gunners are still without long-term injury victims Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere though. Young full-back Kieran Gibbs is unlikely to play as he has a muscle problem.

Van

Arsenal’s Dutch hotshot Robin Van Persie was left on the bench for Arsenal’s last Premier League game at home to Stoke. However the Gunners needed him to come off the bench and grab a brace to win the game.

So much for the striker having a rest. Robin Van Persie has developed into a truly top striker in recent years. In previous seasons he was always overshadowed by other players who were considered bigger stars.

However he is now the undisputed star of the Arsenal team and he seems to be revelling in the tag, scoring superb goals and producing moments of brilliance. And I wouldn’t bet against him finding the net against the Blues again today

Torres

Another striker who could prove vital in this encounter is returning striker Fernando Torres. The Spaniard was just starting to get back into decent form, then he was sent-off against Swansea. If he continues where he left off before he received the red card he could get back to his previous best.

Torres’ problems with scoring while at Chelsea have been well documented. However he has looked hungrier and sharper in his more recent appearances and this is the sort of big match he used to live for.

Prediction

This game is really hard to predict but I think Chelsea may just edge it 2-1. The Gunners are on the road to recovery but Chelsea are fantastic at home and will be wanting to bounce back from last weekends disappointment at QPR.

Can Arsenal upset the odds at Stamford Bridge and beat Chelsea?