Chelsea-Arsenal match at the London ground on Sunday, November 30. The famous Stamford Bridge will be brightened up as the two teams head to a title clash. With a stunning 4-1 win over Tottenham and a 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stage, November made Arsenal the current Premier League leaders by six points.
The high stakes
Overall a win for Gunners above Chelsea vs Arsenal give Arsenal a 9 point lead. Chelsea are in second place and are taking full advantage of new boss Enzo Maresca. On the other hand, a win for the Blues will close their gap to the leaders to just 3 points. It will make it more likely for them to challenge for the crown, especially after beating Barcelona 3-0. Yet the historical statistics between the two clubs are in Arsenal’s favor: Chelsea have not taken three points from a league match against Arsenal since August 2021 and have lost all four previous league games when Arsenal were at the top of the table.
Arsenal’s formidable machine
The Gunners have the most powerful attack with 24 goals scored. Also the best defense in the league with only six goals conceded. Since August 2021, they have won 15 games in a row in all competitions. The emergence of Eberechi Eze after his incredible hat-trick against Spurs showed the depth of Arsenal’s squad. Martin Ødegaard has not yet lost a match against Chelsea with seven goals, and returns from an injury spell. Arsenal will have to deal with some notable absentees. Leandro Trossard’s muscle problem is unclear and Viktor Gyökeres (hamstring) and Gabriel Magalhães (thigh) are both out until the end of December.
President XI (4-3-3): Ray; Tumber, Salba, Hincapié, Calafire; Rice, Zubimendi, Þdgaard; Ska, Eze, Martinell.
Chelsea’s resurgent threat
Maresca’s Blues are firmly in second place, their 3-0 win in Barcelona boosting confidence despite a patchy home record: just 43.5% of points earned at Stamford Bridge this season. They have opened the scoring in seven straight league games, a run that Arsenal ended 5-0 last season. Cole Palmer returns from groin/toe problems and strengthens their attack alongside Pedro Neto and wonderkid Estevao Willian, whose solo stunner set Barca on fire. But the number of absentees is increasing: Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Dario Essugo (surgery) are out until December/January, Levi Colwill faces a season-long ACL battle and Malo Gusto is a major doubt (knock).
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; James, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Estevao; Delap.
As stated on GoonerNews.com
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