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Arsenal vs Chelsea preview, team news, line-ups and prediction

By on April 22, 2024

Declan Rice Bukayo Saka Arsenal

Arsenal will look to tighten their grip at the top of the table with a win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

A disappointing 10 days that saw Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and crash out of the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich threatened to derail our season. However, the players bounced back with a vital win away to Wolves on Saturday night.

The defeat at home to Villa had left us sitting two points behind Manchester City and you’d have thought the title race was over based on some reports in the media. However, Arsenal ensured the title race is still very-much alive with a hard fought win at Molineux Stadium over the weekend.

With City playing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals, it was crucial that Arsenal took the opportunity to reclaim top spot and put some pressure on the defending champions. The last thing we wanted was to all-but hand City the title without even having to kick a ball by losing to Wolves.

Thankfully, Mikel Arteta got a terrific response from his players following the painful defeat to Munich. Arsenal dominated for long periods at Molineux and opened the scoring through Leandro Trossard just before half-time. Unlike in previous games, Arsenal improved after the break and were excellent in the second half. We controlled the game, limited Wolves to very few dangerous attacks and sealed the win with a late Martin Odegaard goal.

Distance

The victory moves Arsenal top of the table – one point ahead of City who have a game in hand. Liverpool moved level on points with us after beating Fulham on Sunday but we boast a superior goal difference. With Liverpool playing Everton away on Wednesday, and Man City travelling to Brighton on Thursday, we have the opportunity to put some distance between us and our title rivals with a win over Chelsea on Tuesday night.

The Blues head to the Emirates off the back of a painful defeat to City in the FA Cup semi-finals. Chelsea played well and matched City for much of the game, but wasteful finishing ultimately cost them as City won it in the 84th minute through Bernardo Silva.

It ended an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions for Chelsea. They have beaten Newcastle and Man Utd in recent weeks, while they thrashed Everton 6-0 last time out in the league, so they should head to north London in confident mood they can pick up a positive result.

However, despite their improved form of late, Chelsea still sit ninth in the table and have very little left to play for after crashing out of the FA Cup, so Arsenal will be the red-hot favourites to secure all three points. Fans can buy Arsenal vs Chelsea tickets through the club websites or via reputable exchanges, and we’re expecting an excellent atmosphere at the Emirates.

Team news

Arsenal have virtually a fully fit squad to choose from. Jurrien Timber is the only absentee as he’s continuing to work on his fitness in training after recovering from a serious knee injury that he picked up on the opening weekend of the season. The Dutchman is expected to play for the U23s tonight so the Chelsea game will come too soon, but Timber is in-line to make his first team return before the end of the season.

Bukayo Saka has trained today despite appearing to pick up a knock at the weekend. Arteta will check on Takehiro Tomiyasu after he missed the win at Wolves with a minor issue, although the Japanese international is expected to be fit tomorrow.

As for Chelsea, they have a lengthy injury list to contend with. Cole Palmer was unable to train today due to illness so he’s a major doubt for the game on Tuesday night. Ben Chilwell is also needing to be assessed due to a knee injury that he’s been carrying lately.

Malo Gusto is expected to miss the trip to Arsenal with a knee injury while Levi Colwill is also ruled out with an ankle problem. Christopher Nkunku is continuing to work on his fitness as he bids to return from a thigh problem while Robert Sanchez is back in light training following illness.

Reece James is facing a race against time to play again this season due to a thigh injury, Lesley Ugochukwu is still out with a hamstring injury while Romeo Lavia won’t play again this season either. Wesley Fofana is the final absentee for the Blues as he’s been ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a knee injury.

Likely line-ups

Arteta is likely to mix things up as he looks to keep his squad fresh during this hectic period. David Raya will retain his place in goal as he looks to secure the Golden Glove with another clean sheet while Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes should all start in defence again.

If Tomiyasu remains out, then we could see Oleksandr Zinchenko recalled to start at left-back with Jacub Kiwior making way. Jorginho could be recalled to start against his former side in midfield for Arsenal while Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard should keep their places.

Bukayo Saka should start once again for the Gunners but it will be interesting to see who starts on the left side of attack. Trossard scored a vital goal at the weekend but Gabriel Martinelli is pushing for a recall. We could see Gabriel Jesus make way with Kai Havertz moving up front.

As for Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino could freshen things up with Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling pushing for recalls in attack. Axel Disasi could also come in for Gusto at right-back with Trevoh Chalobah keeping his place alongside Thiago Silva in defence.

Likely Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Jorginho, Rice, Odegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Likely Chelsea XI: Petrovic, Disasi, Chalobah, Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Gallagher, Sterling, Mudryk, Jackson

Prediction

The two teams played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge back in November but Arsenal should be confident of picking up all three points at home tomorrow night.

Chelsea have very little left to play for while the Gunners are still pushing for the title. This is a huge opportunity to extend their lead and put the pressure on Liverpool and City – who play later this week.

Arsenal have a tough trip to Tottenham coming up on Sunday, but Arteta will ensure the full focus is on beating Chelsea and I think the boys will get the victory we desperately crave. Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea