Arsenal vs. Chelsea
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Kick off: 6:30PM
One of the most eagerly-anticipated fixtures of the Premier League calendar will take place at the Emirates Stadium this evening as Arsenal welcome London rivals Chelsea.
The Gunners, who are down in 15th spot in the table, will be searching for their first league victory since the start of November, while Chelsea will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in England’s top flight, having comfortably dispatched West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Arsenal’s tally of 14 points from 14 matches this season is actually their worst at this stage of a campaign since 1974-75.
The word crisis is used too often in football but is perhaps fitting here as the Gunners continue to struggle for results and indeed performances in England’s top flight.
Not since a 1-0 success at Manchester United on November 1 have Arsenal been victorious in the Premier League, losing five of their last seven, including four of their last five during a torrid run of form.
The capital side showed signs of improvement in their 1-1 draw against Southampton on December 16 but could not build on the point as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Everton last weekend, which has further piled the pressure on under-fire manager Mikel Arteta.
The Gunners had a welcome break from league action on Tuesday as they faced Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, but it was another hugely disappointing result for the club as they lost 4-1 at home to exit the competition.
A record of four wins, two draws and eight defeats from 14 matches this season is an indication of the team’s problems, and they are only four points clear of the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.
It is incredibly difficult to imagine Arsenal dropping out of the top flight, but the fact that the possibility is even being discussed is a real concern for the capital giants.
The Gunners have the fifth-worst home record in the Premier League this season, meanwhile, picking up just seven points from their seven matches, scoring just six times in the process.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the scoresheet in the recent draw with Southampton but has managed just three Premier League goals this season, and the Gabon international is a huge doubt for this game through injury.
Alexandre Lacazette, meanwhile, has three league goals to his name this term, but Willian, Nicolas Pepe and Eddie Nketiah have just three between them.
The team’s defensive record this season has actually been quite strong, conceding 18 times in 14 matches, which is fewer than Man United (21), Liverpool (19) and Everton (19), but a lack of cutting edge in the final third has been a real issue in the early months of the 2020-21 campaign.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are currently fifth in the table, having won seven, drawn four and lost three of their 14 matches this season, collecting 25 points in the process.
The Blues entered Monday’s clash with West Ham off the back of successive defeats to Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers but managed to overcome the Hammers courtesy of a first-half header from Thiago Silva and a second-half brace from Tammy Abraham.
Frank Lampard’s side have two tough matches after this one as they will welcome a dangerous Aston Villa side to Stamford Bridge on December 28 before hosting Man City in their first match of 2021.
Chelsea will then open their FA Cup challenge for the 2020-21 campaign at home to Morecambe before a trip to Fulham in the league on January 15, with the matches coming thick and fast during a busy period.
There is pressure on Lampard to deliver at least another top-four finish due to the amount of money that was spent over the summer, but it would be fair to say that the team are still finding their feet, having dropped points in three of their last four matches in all competitions.
Kai Havertz has struggled to justify his large price tag since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen, while Timo Werner has only managed four Premier League goals, and the 24-year-old, who has been moved into a wide area in recent months, is without a goal in his last six league outings.
The Blues are only six points behind league leaders Liverpool on the same number of matches but are just three points ahead of ninth-placed Aston Villa, who have two matches in hand, which is an indication of how quickly things can change due to the nature of this season’s Premier League.
Chelsea recorded back-to-back away league victories over Burnley and Newcastle United between October 31 and November 21 but have lost their last two on the road to Everton and Wolves, and Arsenal are certainly capable of making it a difficult match despite the home side’s problems this term.
Arsenal possible XI: Leno, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Xhaka, Saka, Willian, Lacazette, Pepe.
Chelsea possible XI: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Silva, Emerson, Mount, Jorginho, Kante, Werner, Abraham, Pulisic.