Gunners, Chelsea renew rivalry

Arsenal vs Chelsea

Venue: The Emirates

Kick off: 4pm

Arsenal and Chelsea meet at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (today) in an eagerly anticipated London derby.

Leaders Chelsea are aiming to extend their comfortable advantage at the top of the table, while Arsenal are looking to edge another step closer to booking a place in the group stage of next season’s Champions League.

Taking on the Premier League leaders in late April would ideally be considered a title decider, but Arsenal’s hopes of catching their London rivals in the closing stage of the season are slim at best due to Chelsea’s dominance.

However, confidence is high in the Arsenal squad and they will be optimistic of adding another impressive win to their recent run as they look to cut the 10-point deficit at the top of the table.

The Gunners are on an eight-match winning run in the Premier League and there was more success for Arsene Wenger’s side as they battled into the FA Cup final by edging out Reading in extra time at Wembley.

There is no doubt that Arsenal supporters want to be in a better position to challenge for the title, but a second-place finish and another FA Cup triumph at the end of the season would suggest that they are heading in the right direction once again.

Much of their recent success is down to Olivier Giroud, who divides opinion with some of his performances for Arsenal but has found form at the perfect stage with seven goals in his last seven league games.

For much of the early stages of the campaign, Chelsea were playing an attacking brand of football, which many were not used to seeing from a side managed by Jose Mourinho, but in recent weeks the manager’s trademark ability to grind out results has been clear for all to see.

It could be argued that the leaders have been short of their best form and while some individuals have struggled to hit the same heights they managed a few months back, Chelsea have ensured that this hasn’t resulted in the door being opened to the sides below them.

Eden Hazard scored the crucial goal to hand Chelsea all three points, and it’s the form of the Belgian which has perhaps been the most important factor in recent weeks as he continues to cause problems for every defence in a season which is likely to be recognised with the PFA Player of the Year award.

It could take a similar performance to triumph in North London, with Mourinho probably expecting to spend long spells without the ball as he relies on his attacking midfielders to operate on the break.

Ending Arsenal’s impressive run should hand Chelsea plenty of motivation, but moving to within one more win of lifting the title means that the visitors will make the short trip full of confidence today.

Arsenal possible starting lineup: Ospina, Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Matic, Willian, Fabregas, Hazard, Drogba.