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:
3Forwards
If Mesut Özil really wasn’t fit for last week’s match, he should be ready to start by now. If he was left out because Emery wanted to make a point to him, that point has completely backfired. The head coach needs to give it up and bring the German back into the team.
Whatever the reason for his previous absences, Arsenal need their most talented player to start this match.
Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may have struggled without the German last week, but they’re a completely different animal with him in the team. Particularly Aubameyang, who scores one goal every 80 minutes alongside Lacazette and Özil this season, but one every 176 minutes without one or both of them.
As a result, we expect the above trio to start, with Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey starting on the bench. Danny Welbeck and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are making good progress with their injuries, but it will still be a while until we see them both back in the team.
Click ‘Next’ for 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).