On a cold and wet Saturday night, Stamford Bridge will be the scene of an exciting London Beatdown.
Hosts Chelsea have shown good progress in all competitions with their last 3 wins in a row, but will face a real test this weekend against Arsenal, one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the Premier League. They have lost five of their last six Premier League matches against the Arsenal, matching the total number of defeats in their previous 25 encounters, which is indicative of the current division between the two sides.
I think the key to the Blue Warriors' recent progress has been the gradual stabilization of their regular lineup. While I don't think this is Chelsea's strongest eleven, the consistency that comes from using the same class of players is starting to pay off, especially in the midfield trio.
The balance between Moses Scarcitto, Ansel Fernandes and Gunnar Gallicher has allowed the team to control the ball and win the game, and this Chelsea side often needs to be the first to score in order to play in their own style and take all three points. With the likes of Staanen, Galpenma, Medilli, Nicolas Jackson and Bucha having been rewarded in recent weeks, it may help them to be more decisive and confident in the box in the early stages of the game.
A couple of weeks ago, I talked about Chelsea and Liverpool, where some of the players had to travel long distances during international matches, and for Chelsea, the two key players, Fernandez and Cristiano Cazetto, were the most affected, which could also have a big impact on them against a dynamic Arsenal midfield that boasts the likes of De Grandma Reis and Martin Ordigaert, as well as the fact that Arsenal also have the advantage of Sim Zinko, who moves into the middle of the park when they're organizing. Moreover, Arsenal also has Sinzinco who moves into the middle of the pitch when organizing, giving them a man advantage. For two teams that like to control the ball, this will be a key area of the pitch.
Arsenal will go into this game with a lot of confidence, and after beating Manchester City last time out and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last year, they are rightly favored to win this game, and they have deserved it with their excellent performance.
Against Manchester City last time, I was worried that they would be a lot weaker without Bucayo Saca, but they proved everyone wrong and showed great depth with a goal from their other wing, Gabriele Martinelli, who I've always thought was a Brazilian wing that was seriously underrated due to Saca's brilliance. Having said that, it will be crucial that Shaka is back in time for this game after being withdrawn from the England squad due to injury.
With Martinelli, Thomas Berdy and the possible return of Shaka, Arsenal may be able to play with "Tim", but they still need to wait for the health of William Salemba, who also withdrew from the French national team due to a minor injury. The stalwart has been one of Arsenal's most crucial players this season, and so far has not missed a single minute of the game, nor has he been successfully beaten by anyone.
Assuming he misses the game due to injury, Binwet could move into the center and Tomoyasu could play on the right, which Chelsea would love to see and would give them some sweetener by putting the in-form Staanen against the backup right of the opposing team, while Galpenma on the other side stays high up in order to take advantage of the openings that Sim Janko leaves behind when he's on the field. The hard-working Nicolas Jackson can assist the midfield line as an extra player behind the drop if needed.
The stats and objective factors are in Arsenal's favor, but nevertheless, I may be letting my heart ride my head, but I have a hunch about Chelsea, and sometimes you get that feeling on the soccer field, and Chelsea has what it takes to hurt Arsenal. Pudjetino have never lost a home game against Arsenal in the Premier League and I think that will continue to be the case.
