Chelsea vs Arsenal. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

Chelsea FC will host Arsenal FC in the English Premier League 14th-tour match at the Stamford Bridge. The fixture will take place on November 6, beginning at 17:30 IST.

With the European competitions being on pause until spring and less and less time left before the World Cup, football fans’ attention is drawn to the national league fixtures. The London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal will take place this Sunday, the match promises to be a very exciting and intense one.

Will Mikel Arteta’s men be able to snatch three points from their neighbors to keep their lead in the table? Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Chelsea News & Current Form: 

The positive effect of Chelsea’s coaching switch seems to be fading. The Aristocrats, especially in recent weeks, have been extremely erratic. The Blues have won only two games out of five – against UEFA Champions League group outsiders RB Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb (both 2-1), which by the way helped them reach the play-offs from first place. However, the Londoners have not seen a win in the league for three games now, with the last one putting them in 7th place, giving the fans a very depressing feeling.

Graham Potter is preparing to take on the EPL leaders after suffering his first defeat in charge of Chelsea. Ironically, that defeat came from the former team of the Englishman. The Brighton & Hove Albion players took a special approach against their former manager’s team and gave the Blues a ‘warm reception’ in the form of thrashing.

That meeting that took place a week ago ended in favor of the Seagulls with the score 4-1, with the Aristocrats scoring two own goals. 

Luck was very much on the side of the Londoners for a while, beating Aston Villa 2-0, beating Crystal Palace 2-1 and getting one point at Brentford (0-0) with little genuine merit.

However, it seems fortune has turned away from them and the harshness of everyday life has begun, with Potter having very little time to cope with the difficulties that arise from his search for the perfect set-up and injuries to important players.

“I always have an idea of how we want to play football, it just depends on where the players are at, what we have, when injuries come back,’ said the manager. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m experimenting. You have to remember when you’re trying to do something new there is a chance it goes wrong. You always have to be prepared for that. It sounds a bit strange because you should come across as this all-knowing person with all the answers, but the reality of making progress and doing something different and new is you have to prepare to look like an idiot. If it fails, you’re open to criticism. On the flipside, if you don’t do anything, just the same stuff, then nothing changes. You have to have the courage to do that and accept the consequences when it doesn’t go your way, but stability is far better than constant change.’

“We are at the start of an exciting project with lots of things that have happened behind the scenes, lots of change, lots of instability. There’s a long way to go.”

“You have one defeat and it’s the end of the world, but we understand that. If you look across at Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, all the successful teams, they’ve had periods where it hasn’t gone in a straight line. You have to deal with the disappointments and move forward.”

This game was also marred by an injury to Blue’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had just recently picked up a superb form after being on the sidelines for a really long time. The Spaniard left the field due to an injury and also missed the UEFA Champions League game in midweek. Potter confirmed that GK will not play before the World Cup 2022 due to the plantar fascia injury he has in the bottom of one of his feet. 

Kepa’s absence will surely have an impact on the club as his solid play in October earned Aristocrats a bunch of important points, while he was also named Chelsea’s Player of the Month. 

In addition to Arrizabalaga, Ben Chilwell joined the injured list after the match against Dinamo Zagreb. 

“Following the injury sustained in our recent game against Dinamo Zagreb, Ben has undergone a scan on his hamstring.  Results show that Ben has suffered a significant injury and the defender is unfortunately expected to miss the World Cup.  Ben will now begin a rehabilitation programme with the club’s medical department.”

While another important player will not be able to help the Pensioners in a very important encounter, it is not even clear when and in what form the English defender will be able to return to action in such a difficult season. 

In addition to the new injuries, important N’golo Kante, Wesley Fofana and Reece James are still in the Londoners’ sickbay.

Chelsea have had four nights and three days to prepare for the derby. That’s 24 hours more than the Gunners had. However, although the Blues had more time to prepare and rest, we should not forget the massive rotation that Mikel Arteta did in Zurich. The difference in freshness won’t be as noticeable, but whether Potter has any surprises in tactical terms remains to be seen.

“The fact that we’ve all been playing so much, it’s almost like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to a certain extent, it’s just not that big a deal. But it’s helpful in a way the extra 24 hours, we take what we can at this point of the season. We’re all used to the quick turnaround, we’re used to short space in between games, but any time you have you have to use it well.” says Potter on the difference in the schedule.

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Arsenal News & Current Form: 

The Red and Whites are exceeding expectations – so much so that they are likely to be Manchester City’s only real rivals for the league title.

In the previous round, the Londoners dispelled doubts about their form, which arose from tentative performances against Leeds United and Southampton.

Arsenal thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-0 at home, before beating FC Zürich 1-0 to advance to the UEFA Europa League play-offs from top spot. Mikel Arteta rested some players on the day, using just four core players in the starting line-up. In this game, defender Kieran Tierney, who rarely starts due to occasional injuries, made a great impression with both his defensive and offensive performance. The Scot scored the only goal of the match with a superb shot from outside the box.

In securing such a hard-fought win while rotation, the Londoners have freed up their February calendar, allowing them to concentrate on their title race (there will be no need to play two more 1/16 final games). 

Now, instead of a miracle from Fulham (Manchester City clinched the win in the 90+5th minute, 1-2, on Saturday), Mikel Arteta’s side approach the derby with confidence and determination to hold on to their place in the English league, the more so because they have some important players returning to the squad.

In particular, Mohamed Elneny and Oleksandr Zinchenko have recovered from injuries. The Ukrainian will certainly contend for a return to the starting lineup, as Takehiro Tomiyasu was injured in the game against the Swiss side. The Japanese international, who had previously featured on the left in defense, is likely to miss the trip to Stamford Bridge. 

Reiss Nelson, who appears to be in fine form after injury, is also worth mentioning. The club’s academy product has already distinguished himself with 2 goals + 1 assist in the match against the Foresters, which gives Arteta another option to strengthen the game with the sharp super-sub.

Chelsea form guide (in all competitions): W-D-D-W-L-W  

Arsenal form guide (in all competitions): W-W-D-L-W-W 

Chelsea vs Arsenal Head-To-Head Record: 

Matches with Arsenal are traditionally unsuccessful for Chelsea. They have lost four of their last five head-to-head encounters.

Chelsea vs Arsenal Predicted XI:

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly; Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount; Aubameyang, Sterling.

Arsenal possible starting lineup: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Jesus.

Statistical preview of the match Chelsea vs Arsenal:

• Arsenal have not lost at Stamford Bridge in six of their last eight games at this stadium. 
• Three previous visits to the Blues have brought the Gunners a 2-2 draw, and wins of 1-0 and 4-2.
• The hosts have not lost at Stamford Bridge this season. 
• Arsenal have lost points just twice in the 2022/2023 season. In 12 EPL games, the team has won 10 times and suffered a defeat in one meeting – against Man Utd (1:3).
• In 12 EPL games, Arsenal have scored 30 goals (an average of 2.5 per 90 minutes), second highest in the league behind Man City (39).
• At the same time, the Gunners’ defense is also good: they have conceded 11 goals, only Newcastle allowed fewer(10).
• Arsenal’s goalscoring streak in the English Premier League stands at 13 games.
• Six of the Gunners’ away games have ended without an exchange of goals.
• Chelsea’s winless streak in the English Premier League stands at three games.
• Chelsea have scored and conceded in 7 of the last 8 Premier League home games.
• Chelsea have scored less than 2.5 goals in 13 of the last 14 Premier League games. While they concede an average of 1.25 per game.

What has been said before the match:

Graham Potter, the Chelsea gaffer:

“If you do not match the opponent’s intensity in any game, it’s a challenge for us. It was a unique situation at the weekend [against Brighton] and now we have to learn from that and be ready for a London derby. It’s a special game. It’s an exciting game. We have to be ready to play the football that can get us a result.”

Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal gaffer:

“They’ve been really consistent, the results that they’ve had recently since Graham took over you can see what he’s trying to do and we will be ready and will start to prepare for the game from tonight. You can see that he has put his ideas in, like he did with Brighton. We need to play better than them, earn the right to win, and score one more goal than them.”

Chelsea vs Arsenal Prediction:

Arsenal now look superior to their neighbors in London. Graham Potter will have to think hard to find an effective approach to bash the leader and there is no guarantee that he will do so, especially considering the latest lackluster form of his team.

The youngest squad in the Premier League looks really interesting and sharp. Arsenal are not afraid of the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, as they have proven many times before, and will do everything to secure another 3 points to stay at the top.

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Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Arsenal to win – Yes.