Prediction: Chelsea vs Arsenal

28th October 2011

Chelsea will have a lot to prove in this clash after being robbed of victory against Queens Park Rangers, with Carling Cup victory at Goodison Park a welcoming boost before the Arsenal game. The Gunners, on the other hand, are on a four-match winning run, but they have yet to win a game against the title contenders this season.

Despite spending relatively short period of time at Stamford Bridge, Andre Villas-Boas has done a world of good since taking over the reigns from Carlo Ancelotti. His Chelsea looks much more convincing than the one we could see last term, even if Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres have yet to rediscover their scoring touch. While Frank Lampard again looks like a world-class player, it is Juan Manuel Mata and Daniel Sturridge that have been real stand out performers this term. Despite playing on the wing, Sturridge has scored some crucial goals already, whereas the Spain international has been an instant hit with his pin-point crosses and impressive attacking showings. As a result, Chelsea have won most of the games this season with relative ease, while they even managed to outplay Queens Park Rangers with just nine men on the pitch. The Blues showed a lot of character by winning their Carling Cup tie against Everton, after having keeper Turnbull sent off just before the hour mark, and there are no doubts that they enter the Arsenal game as hot favourites. Fernando Torres and Jose Bosingwa return from suspension, but Ross Turnbull and Didier Drogba are banned.

Arsenal started the season in terrible fashion, as Arsene Wenger was forced to battle with numerous problems, but the Gunners have shown some improvement since. However, rather than raising the standard of their performances a great deal, the Gunners have just taken advantage of the easy fixture list to win seven of last eight games, with six home wins against bottom table sides and a narrow win in Marseille hardly something that will strike fear into Chelsea players. It is more than evident that Arsenal are heavily relying on Robin van Persie, which was there for everyone to see in the Stoke game, when the Gunners largely struggled until the Dutchman was introduced in the second half. With Van Persie and Gervinho the only in-form players at the moment, the Gunners could face big problems against high-flying Chelsea, especially as their back line kept just two clean sheets in last ten games. Thomas Vermaelen should be fit to play, but Sagna, Wilshire, Jenkinson and Gibbs remain sidelined, which is going to create big problems at the back.

Conclusion

Even if Arsenal have notched up a good run of results of late, I just cannot trust a side that lost all three games against top 6 sides this season. Chelsea, on the other hand, are looking very good at the moment and they should be able to win this game and stay close to the Manchester rivals.

Verdict: Home win Chelsea (1)

Best Odds: 2/3

Bookmaker: William Hill