ARSENAL'S bottle appears to have crashed in the race for a Champions League place and they head into this London derby with Chelsea badly needing a result.
The Gunners were hot favourites to finish fourth after an impressive five-game winning run in the Premier League gave them the edge over Spurs, Manchester United and West Ham.
But their form has nosedived since then with Mikel Arteta's men losing four of their next five matches to fall down to sixth in the table.
They let down Slip Tips at the weekend by drawing a blank in defeat at Southampton but the poor form of their rivals means Arsenal are still in the mix for that Champions League place.
They sit just three points behind Tottenham and United but it's hard to see them drawing level at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea side who dug deep to reach the FA Cup Final at the weekend.
I fancied Crystal Palace to cause the Blues problems in their Wembley semi-final after a gruelling shift from Thomas Tuchel's men against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
But despite not playing at their thrilling best, Chelsea still found a way to win 2-0 and line up a showpiece with Liverpool.
They smashed six goals in their last Premier League outing at Southampton and will be confident of beating a Gunners side who drew a blank at the same venue.
How the bookies view it
Arsenal have been written off and are a best 10/3 at Coral for a win. Chelsea's best price is 11/12 at SBK, which looks good value, while the draw pays 27/10 at Unibet.
Recent head to head
Chelsea won 2-0 at the Emirates earlier this season (below) but the Gunners had held the upper hand before that, winning three in a row including a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. That victory ended an nine-game run without a win at Chelsea's home for Arsenal.
Players to watch
Timo Werner has finally hit some form for Chelsea and it's making it hard for Tuchel to leave him out of the team. The German is 11/4 with Unibet for anytime scorer and 5/1 with the same firm for an assist.
Bukayo Saka still looks Arsenal's biggest threat and only an incredible Fraser Forster save stopped him from scoring at the weekend. The England winger is 29/5 with SBK to score here while Unibet price him at 11/2 for an assist.
Anything else catch the eye?
Arsenal's biggest problem in recent weeks has been a lack of firepower while Chelsea have kept clean sheets in their last two domestic games. That makes a Blues clean sheet worth a look at 6/4 with McBookie. Under 2.5 goals also appeals, although the odds aren't great at a best 4/5 with Bet365.
The Gunners have picked up most cards in the last three meetings and betting on a repeat here pays 10/11 at Bet365. I also fancy over 2.5 Arsenal cards at 6/4 with the same firm.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Arsenal will be played on Apr 20, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. 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.
