Chelsea v Arsenal
Chelsea v Arsenal – Saturday 29th October – Stamford Bridge (13:45)
The English Premier League serves up yet another mammoth clash this weekend as Chelsea host Arsenal in a much anticipated London derby match.
Chelsea failed to continue their rich vein of form away to QPR last weekend. They lost 1-0 in a match where they were reduced to 9 men in the first half after Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba received red cards for fouls committed and a penalty been awarded to QPR in the ninth minute which they slotted home. Despite playing with 9 men Chelsea still managed to dominate the match but failed to put away the chances that were created. Chelsea lie in 3rd place, just 1 point off Manchester United and 6 points off log leaders Manchester City. While they have been inconsistent away from home they have been excellent at Stamford Bridge where they have a 100% record so far winning all 4 of their home matches with an average of 3 goals per game. Stamford Bridge is probably one of the toughest places to visit in the Premier League as Chelsea have an excellent record losing only 5 matches at the Bridge since the 2004/2005 season. Fernando Torres will return from his 3 match ban from a red card this weekend and much will be expected from the Spaniard as he has shown glimpses of the old Torres been back in the last few matches and has finally started scoring goals. He looked excellent against Genk in Chelsea’ UEFA Champions League match last week, scoring a brace. New recruits Juan Mata and Raul Meireles have also looked dangerous going forward for Chelsea and have assisted Manager Andres Villas-Boas in implementing his appealing attacking style of play.
Arsenals 3-1 win against Stoke made it 5 wins out of the last 6 matches for Arsene Wenger’s team. The lone blemish in their record in the past month was to local rivals Tottenham, a loss that prompted Arsenal to its worst start in over 3 decades. Skipper Robin Van Persie saved his side once again as Gervinho’s goal was ruled out with a tap in from Peter Crouch. The Dutchman scored an excellent brace to get the 3 points at Sunderland a week before and it was Van Persie again who saved his side from dropping crucial points as he came on in the 64th minute to score another excellent brace. Ivorian Gervinho gave one of his most impressive performances so far for the Gunners as he had a hand in all 3 goals, setting up both of Van Persie’s goals. The dangerous duo of Van Persie and Gervinho have been in good form all season and will be looked upon to produce some moments of magic in this crucial encounter.
This will be a tough match and both sides are capable of winning it on the day. However Arsenal have only won twice at Stamford Bridge since 2000 and Chelsea have looked strong at home. The Blues are tipped to get the win here.
