Chelsea vs Arsenal
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick off: 12:45pm
Stuttering Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (today) knowing that another defeat would plunge their title defence into further disarray following a dismal start to the season.
Already 11 points behind Manchester City, only a victory will do for Jose Mourinho’s side.
And the visit of arch rival, Arsene Wenger, may force the under-fire Portuguese coach to draw a line in the sand.
Eleven points behind top-of-the-table City after enduring their worst start to a league season for 29 years, it is fair to say that Chelsea, the Premier League champions, are teetering on the brink of a full-blown crisis – if they have not already reached that point.
Mourinho is reported to have imposed a ‘banter’ ban on his troops after last week’s 3-1 reverse at Everton – their third defeat of the campaign.
Light-hearted behaviour has been outlawed by the Portuguese, who will feel that the way in which the Blues have begun the defence of their title is anything but a laughing matter.
The visit of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League on Wednesday night offered a welcome escape for Chelsea as they looked to put their domestic woes to one side – and they did.
Goals from Willian, Oscar, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas secured a 4-0 win in West London.
They will hope that such an emphatic victory will restore their gusto and prove a watershed moment in their season.
It has to.
With the high-flying Sky Blues hosting West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium, losing to Arsenal on Saturday may just see the champions fall 14 points behind City after six games played.
Mourinho may be known as the special one, but bridging that gap en route to defending their title would border on the miraculous.
On the day of his 100th league game at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho, who had lost one of those previous 99, watched his side lose 2-1 to Crystal Palace in a defeat that was allowed to fester for two weeks due to the international break.
Things then took a turn for the worse once more when Steven Naismith’s ‘perfect’ hat-trick inspired the Toffees to victory at Goodison Park.
In spite of Chelsea’s form, the 52-year-old insisted that he was not feeling the pressure, and the visit of Arsenal arguably comes at a good time for the Blues. It is not just any other game, and Mourinho’s deep-seated hostility with opposite number Wenger is sure to add an element of spice.
Arsene Wenger has been waiting 11 years to record a Premier League win over Mourinho, and he will have few better opportunities to break that today.
With six draws and four defeats, beating the Portuguese in a league game has proven a tough nut to crack for the Frenchman, but there is a sense that, for the second time in as many months, Arsenal can beat Chelsea.
The Gunners kicked off the 2015-16 season by beating their London rivals 1-0 in the Community Shield.
It was a victory that served to consolidate the belief that a title challenge beckoned for Arsenal and, on a personal note, it gave Wenger his first win over Mourinho in a case of 14th time lucky for the 65-year-old.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Begovic; Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Ramires, Oscar, Hazard; Costa
Arsenal possible starting lineup: Cech; Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez; Walcott.