Arsenal will look to strengthen their position at the top of the Premier League table as they welcome London rivals Chelsea to the Emirates on Super Sunday.
Arsenal bounced back from consecutive draws away at Brentford and rock-bottom Wolves by winning 1-4 away at North London rivals Spurs, maintaining their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, albeit having played a game more than Man City.
Mikel Arteta’s hosts will be delighted to return home following three consecutive away matches in the Premier League, with the Gunners winning 10 of their 13 league encounters as hosts (W10-D2-L1).
However, the three matches they have dropped points in at their North London base have come against teams in the top six.
In saying that, the Blues travel to the north side of the capital off the back of a couple of disappointing results at home, drawing to newly-promoted pair Leeds United and Burnley – with the result against the latter seeing me land an 11/10 winner.
Liam Rosenior had initially won each of his opening four Premier League encounters as Blues boss, but those successive draws have seen the Blues fall three points below fourth-placed Manchester United and above sixth-placed Liverpool only on goal difference.
How the bookies view it: Arsenal favourites
Arsenal are favourites to follow up their victory away at North London rivals Spurs, with bet365 pricing a home success at 3/5.
The Blues are 9/2 underdogs to claim a third successive away win in the Premier League, whilst the draw is 14/5.
Head to head: Recent dominance for the Gunners
Arsenal have dominated this fixture in recent seasons, with the Gunners unbeaten in each of their previous 10 meetings with Chelsea in all competitions (W7-D3-L0), including knocking them out of the League Cup semi-final at the beginning of the month.
Players to watch: Gyokeres to grab another goal?
Viktor Gyokeres will come into this clash full of confidence following his well-taken brace in the North London derby last Sunday.
The Swedish international was also involved in two of the Gunners’ goals when they defeated Chelsea 2-3 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final in the middle of January, and he pays 10/11 at bet365 to Score or Assist on Sunday.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Mikel Arteta will be without the injured Mikel Merino, whilst Ben White and Kai Havertz are doubts.
Chelsea are still without the injured Filip Jorgensen, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens, whilst Wesley Fofana is suspended following his sending off against Burnley last weekend.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Tosin, Gusto, Santos, Caicedo, Neto, Palmer, Fernandez, Pedro
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, Arsenal have dominated this fixture in recent seasons, and I expect the Gunners to march to all three points against their London rivals once again on Sunday.
The Blues come into this clash off the back of a pair of disappointing draws at home to Leeds United and Burnley, whilst both of Rosenior’s defeats as Chelsea head coach have come against Arsenal in their League Cup semi-final tie.
Chelsea have only blanked once in the Premier League since the opening day of the season, so combining a home win with both teams to score appeals at 11/5 at bet365.
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