BOTH Chelsea and Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from disappointing results when they square off at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
An injury-time header form Newcastle's Issac Hayden broke Blues hearts on Saturday evening and once again showcased the inconsistencies that have plagued Chelsea's season thus far.
Frank Lampard's young guns won plenty of admirers in the opening months of the season and although the west Londoners continue to occupy a place in the top-four, the Blues have now only triumphed in four of their last 11 top-flight tussles.
One of those victories came at the Emirates last month when a quick-fire double consigned Mikel Arteta to his first and only defeat as Arsenal manager to date.
Yet, the Spaniard followed up that setback by securing back-to-back wins over both Manchester United and Leeds United – two results which appeared to lift some of the long-standing clouds that have lingered in the red half of north London in recent seasons.
However, the Gunners faithful have since come crashing back down to earth with a bang following 1-1 draws with Crystal Palace and Sheffield United respectively.
The Betting Odds
Despite falling to defeat in three of their last five outings at Stamford Bridge, the bookies make Chelsea big favourites at 3/4 (William Hill), while a first away win of the Arteta era is an unfancied 7/2 (Bet 365)
Arsenal have drawn four of their last five Premier Leagues matches and another point apiece on Tuesday night is priced at odds-against of 3/1 (SportingBet)
The Betting Angles
Gabriel Martinelli has earned plenty of plaudits for his performances this season and rightly so after racking up an eye-catching nine goals in 19 appearances in his maiden season in north London.
The 18 year old wonderkid looks destined for the top and after netting against Sheffield United on Saturday, the 10/11 (Bet 365) for Martinelli to have at least one shot on target against Lampard's leaky backline takes appeal.
I cashed in by tipping Newcastle to make the bulge net on Saturday night and given that three of the current bottom-eight sides in the division have left this venue victorious in recent weeks, Arsenal's superior quality could see them get on the scoresheet at Stamford Bridge.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea share similar attributes in that both sides are very adept at attacking, however, both teams are defensively vulnerable.
There is little value in backing both teams to score at 8/13 (Bet 365) however, those odds can be boosted up to a much more enticing Evens (Bet 365) by adding each respective team to receive at least one card.
Both teams to score clicked at the Emirates just after Christmas on an afternoon where both rivals shared eight cards between them, not to mention Arsenal have clocked up the most yellow cards in the Premier League this term.
It's also worth noting that Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six away matches and that coupled with the fact that the likes of Bournemouth, Southampton and West Ham have all taken maximum points away from recent trips to Stamford Bridge points towards this London derby being a much tighter affair than what the betting suggests.
What's more, Arteta has made it known that Arsenal must beat the Blues with a view to keeping their crumbling top-four quest alive and I fancy Arsenal's gradual improvement under the Spaniards stewardship to continue against a stuttering Chelsea side.
Therefore, I'm going to side with Arsenal with 0.75 start on the asian handicap at 47/50 (Bet 365) – taking this approach will only see you completely out of pocket should Arsenal lose the game by two or more goals – something that the Gunners have avoided in 13 of their last 14 matches across all competitions.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal will be played on Jan 21, 2020 and kick off at 20:15. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
