Chelsea – Arsenal | 20/04/2022

Coming off the back of contrasting fortunes in their weekend matchups, Chelsea and Arsenal prepare for battle in Wednesday’s Premier League London derby at Stamford Bridge. The Blues beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in their FA Cup semi-final over the weekend, while Mikel Arteta’s side slumped to a third defeat on the bounce during their trip to Southampton.

After booking their place in the FA Cup final for a third consecutive season with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, Chelsea resume their league duties by welcoming London rivals Arsenal. A top-four place seems assured with Chelsea boasting a comfortable gap to fifth and games in hand to boot, but boss Thomas Tuchel stated that maintaining strong form has been difficult because the ‘Blues’ are the Premier League (PL) side with the most European minutes played.

Chelsea’s most recent home game saw them lose 3-1 to Real Madrid in their second straight home loss by a 2+ goal margin. Those two defeats are as many as Chelsea had lost in 27 competitive home games prior (W18, D7) and concerningly for them, the last time they lost three home games in a row, the third result in that run was a 2-0 loss to Arsenal back in 1993!

Despite history being on their side, this looks to be a tricky trip to Stamford Bridge for Arsenal as they look to avoid an unwelcome record-equalling fourth consecutive PL defeat for the first time since 1994/95. Hints of a dressing room rift have emerged as Alexandre Lacazette’s absence was put down to ‘private reasons’ according to boss Mikel Arteta, who saw a similar situation unfold prior to the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

A first top-four finish since 2015/16 is still achievable for Arsenal who remain in touch with the race, though a continuation of their current 240-minute run of away play without finding the net could see them lose touch with the Champions League places.

 

Date: 20/04/2022
Time: 21:45
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London)
Pick for this match:
“1” – @ 1.85 ( BETWAY )

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