Arsenal face Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, after heaping pressure on themselves with defeat to West Ham United last time out.

Had Arsenal managed a victory at the London Stadium last weekend, they would’ve come into this match with the chance to catch up with Chelsea and the top four, at least on points.

As it is, Unai Emery’s side need a win just to stay in touch, whilst defeat would likely leave them nine points off the Champions League places (depending on Spurs’ result). What’s more, a game against Manchester City at the Etihad in two weeks time will cause even further trouble. It’s suddenly crucial that Arsenal win against Chelsea.

After a week of rest and with another six days before the following game against Manchester United, there’s no need to rotate. Emery needs to pick his strongest team and try and get a result.

Let’s have a look at our predicted lineup for the fixture:

2Midfield and Wing-Backs

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 28: Hector Bellerin of Arsenal during the warm up before the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on October 28, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 28: Hector Bellerin of Arsenal during the warm-up before the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on October 28, 2018, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Hector Bellerin made his return from injury from the bench against West Ham, but he should be involved from the start this time. Arsenal have really missed the right-back during his spell on the sidelines with injury, and it’s a boost to have him back at last.

On the other side, it’s hard to see Emery dropping Sead Kolasinac for Nacho Monreal. Kolasinac has been performing really well, whilst Monreal has struggled to stay fit for more than a few games this season. It’s a risk to start him and end up needing to waste a substitution on another injury in such a big game.

In the middle, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira are hopefully the only options that Emery is considering. Whilst the Swiss international did make a mistake in last week’s match, Matteo Guendouzi really struggled throughout the entire 90 minutes.

Plus, Arsenal created absolutely nothing for the final 20 minutes against West Ham without Xhaka, despite being a goal down. The team just doesn’t function without him right now, even with his mistakes.

Click ‘Next’ for Forwards and the full Predicted Starting XI

Arsenal vs Chelsea Betting Tips

Arsenal haven’t lost to Chelsea at home since the 2015/16 season, with three wins and one draw since then. Bet on Arsenal to win with 138 UK at 2/1.

Arsenal have scored at least two goals in each of their last four home games against Chelsea. Bet on Arsenal to score over 1.5 goals with 138 UK at 5/4.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the Premier League’s joint top scorer, with four goals in his last five league games. Bet on Aubameyang to score anytime with 138 UK at 11/10.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (9/1 with 138 UK).