Arsenal head into their London derby clash against Chelsea looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League. Trailing leaders Liverpool by 15 points albeit with a game in hand, Arsenal may have to shift focus from Arne Slot’s side to the teams behind them. One of those in the chasing pack is Chelsea.
Fourth on the table, the west London side have won their last two matches against lowly Southampton and Leicester City to close the gap to Arsenal to six points. With the race for Champions League places promising to go to the wire, it will be important for Chelsea to keep a safe distance from the sides trailing them, and a result away at the Emirates will go a long way towards steadying nerves as we enter the business end of the season.
With Arsenal struggling recently in the league (two draw, one loss in their last three games), Chelsea will be looking to take the game to them at the Emirates. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the marquee game of this Premier League weekend.
Key details:
Date: Sunday, March 16 at 1:30 p.m. GMT (9:30 a.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. IST)
Venue: Emirates stadium, London
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
VAR: Jarred Gillett
How to watch:
The match is available to watch on Sky Sports in the UK, Peacock in the United States and JioHotstar in India. You can also follow live updates on ESPN.
Team news:
Arsenal
Kai Havertz, F, hamstring, OUT, estimated return late July
Bukayo Saka, F, hamstring, OUT, estimated return mid March
Gabriel Jesus, F, knee, OUT, out for season
Takehiro Tomiyasu, D, knee, OUT, out for season
Chelsea
David Fofana, F, thigh, DOUBT
Malo Gusto, D, knock, DOUBT
Marc Guiu, F, hamstring, DOUBT
Nicolas Jackson, F, thing, OUT, estimated return early April
Noni Madueke, F, hamstring, OUT, estimated return early April
Expected lineup:
Arsenal
GK: David Raya
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly | CB: Gabriel | CB: William Saliba | RB: Jurriën Timber
CM: Declan Rice | CM: Thomas Partey
LW: Leandro Trossard | AM: Martin Odegaard | RW: Ethan Nwaneri
ST: Mikel Merino
Chelsea
GK: Robert Sanchez
LB: Marc Cucurella | CB: Levi Colwill | CB: Tosin Aradabioyo | RB: Wesley Fofana
CM: Moises Caicedo | CM: Enzo Fernandes
LW: Christopher Nkunku | CAM: Cole Palmer | RW: Jadon Sancho
CF: Pedro Neto
Stats:
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Arsenal are unbeaten in their last six Prem games against Chelsea (W4 D2). This is their longest run without a league defeat against them since a run of 19 between 1995 and 2005.
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Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Chelsea have won only three of their 19 Premier League away games against sides starting the day above them in the table (D3 L13). The wins came at Fulham (Oct 2023), Tottenham Hotspur (Nov 2023), and Bournemouth (Sep 2024).
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Arsenal have never lost back-to-back London derby matches at the Emirates Stadium in the Prem, last doing so at home in the 2005-06 campaign (vs Chelsea and West Ham at Highbury). West Ham, of course, beat them in their last home match.
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