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The Chelsea double midfield fulcrum of Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia has been gaining deserved plaudits lately and it’ll be fascinating to see how they fare against top-drawer opposition. Caicedo impressed last week at Manchester United but Lavia wasn’t able to dictate the game like he has been doing. The latter is just 20 so his ceiling is sky-high and today feels like a decent test of his credentials.
The two managers have been speaking ahead of kick-off and you can watch their musings here:
Will Chelsea and Arsenal be among the inevitably long list of suitors for Viktor Gyökeres in the summer? With Ruben Amorim, United will consider themselves favourites but the two London clubs may be after a prolific No.9.
Before this weekend, Manchester United and Newcastle were supposedly struggling, Nottingham Forest were flying and Tottenham were gathering major momentum. Today:
Manchester United win 3-0
Newcastle win 3-1 at Forest
Tottenham lose at home to Ipswich
Greatest league in the world.
Does this mark a return to the days of Sky Sports’ ‘GRAND SLAM SUNDAY’ branding? Let’s hope so.
Barring a 3-0 win at Preston in the Carabao Cup, it’s been a lean old run for Arsenal since the previous international break – especially away from home. The Gunners have blanked at Bournemouth, Inter and Newcastle, a streak of defeats that has prompted questions over Mikel Arteta’s tactics and the team’s general fluency.
Will the return of Ødegaard prove panacea for all those problems? Barney Ronay doubts it.
We’re into the final 30 minutes of the earlier kick-offs:
Share Updated at 16.34 CET
So everyone starts, injury doubt or not! Palmer is probably not a huge surprise. Maresca has played his cards fairly close to his chest in recent press conferences when asked about the playmaker’s fitness and was helped by the fact Palmer isn’t in Chelsea’s Conference League squad. He should be fit and firing to take centre-stage today. Reece James drops to the Blues’ bench with Cucurella preferred and Gusto going to right-back.
The bigger worry is over Arsenal’s injured contingent, with Declan Rice apparently playing despite a broken toe and Ødegaard only just back from a long-standing ankle issue.
The positive upshot for both sides – and the neutrals – is two benches packed with potential game-changers: Félix, Nkunku, Trossard, Jesus … oooft.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, James, Tosin, Veiga, Fernández, Mudryk, J.Félix, Nkunku.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Partey, Ødegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Trossard, Jesus.
Share Updated at 16.20 CET
With official team news due at 3.15pm, we await news on several key midfielders. Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard. Word is both players have arrived at Stamford Bridge, along with Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino who both picked up knocks in Milan in midweek.
Chelsea’s concerns centre around Cole Palmer, who was on the end of a bash from Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United last weekend, but the general consensus seems to be that Palmer will be fine. He’d arguably be the biggest miss of the lot.
Here’s some pre-match reading for you.
It’s the headline game of the weekend without doubt, and a rarity in being a clash between two elite teams that is so difficult to predict. There are cases to be made for both sides. Chelsea, one of the Premier League’s in-form sides, are fresh off an 8-0 victory and have built renewed hope under Enzo Maresca of late; although Arsenal, albeit they have been disjointed and tetchy of late, have the pedigree of having pushed for the title in the past two seasons – during which time Chelsea finished down in mid-table.
There are some mouthwatering individual contests to observe that will decide the contest. Will Nicolas Jackson win the battle against William Saliba? Can Declan Rice shackle Cole Palmer (if the latter is fit)? And could Chelsea’s new-look, all-action midfield rule the roost or will Martin Ødegaard (if fit) provide the Gunners a timely boost in that area?
Official team news is coming up soon, kick-off is at 4.30pm GMT (UK time). Should be a good’un.
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