 |
|
|
|
London's oldest top-flight derby takes centre stage tonight as Arsenal and Chelsea battle it out at the Emirates Stadium in what would be their 181st meeting.
The Blues, who achieved a double against the Gunners last season, will go into this match looking for a fourth successive victory in the league and cup.
Arsene Wenger last beat Chelsea in October 2011 when his Gunners side snatched a 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge when Andre Villas-Boas was at the helm.
Arsenal’s last home win against the Blues was in December 2010 when Alexandre Song, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott put the Gunners 3-0 up before Branislav Ivanovic pulled one back in the second half.
Arsenal will be without midfielder Jack Wilshere, who starts serving his two-match suspension. Defender Laurent Koscielny is doubtful after suffering a cut to his knee at Manchester City.
However, the good news is that German forward Lukas Podolski is available for selection being sidelined by a hamstring injury for three months.
Chelsea
Branislav Ivanovic is available for selection after serving a one-match ban, the defender is set to reclaim his right-back position which will see the versatile Cesar Azpilicueta reverting to left-back and Ashley Cole dropping to the bench.
Manager Jose Mourinho confirmed on Friday that Cole will be benched against his former club and played down suggestions that he is benching the left-back for attending his former club's Christmas party just days before the derby. Skipper John Terry will make a return, but Michael Essien will be missed as he will be serving a ban after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season.
Arsenal won nine and lost none of their first 13 Premier League home games against Chelsea, but have won just two and lost four of the last eight.
Chelsea have won eight and lost just two of the last 11 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions.
Jose Mourinho has never lost against Arsene Wenger as an opposition manager (W5 D4 L0).
Juan Mata has scored in each of his four starts against Arsenal in all competitions for Chelsea.
Chelsea have taken 11 points away from the Emirates Stadium, the joint-best haul of any team (along with Aston Villa) in the Premier League since the Gunners moved from Highbury.
Theo Walcott scored his first ever Arsenal goal against Chelsea in the 2007 Carling Cup final and has since netted in three Premier League games against the Blues.
Chelsea have had 11 different managers since Arsene Wenger was appointed and 12 in total with Mourinho’s second spell. Jose Mourinho will be the fifth different manager Arsene Wenger has faced in the last six Chelsea v Arsenal fixtures.
Arsenal have not gone three Premier League fixtures without a win since January 2013; the third of those games was against Chelsea.
The Gunners have conceded as many goals in their last two Premier League games (7) as they had in the previous 13.
Chelsea have scored at least twice in each of their last six Premier League games (16 goals in total).
No comments:
Post a Comment