Arsenal’s London derby against Chelsea on Premier League Matchday 9 will take place at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.
For the first time since Graham Potter’s final few weeks in March 2023, Chelsea enters the match having won three straight games. They remain in 11th place in the Premier League rankings in spite of this.
The opulently arranged hosts could improve on their current success by winning three straight Premier League games, which they haven’t achieved since October 2022.
It’s interesting to note that the match takes place two weekends after Arsenal’s Premier League victory over Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. After Lens’s well-deserved Champions League loss, coach Mikel Arteta and his team pulled off a spectacular comeback victory.
Arsenal is one of just two clubs in the 2023–2024 Premier League to have not experienced a league loss thus far, highlighting their exceptional fortune. Due to this, they are now level on points with Tottenham Hotspur, who are now leading Arsenal by just two goals differential and have not lost this season.
They will start the new week as the league table leaders if coach Arteta can defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, subject to the result of Spurs vs. Fulham on Monday.
Team News for Chelsea vs. Arsenal:
Chelsea’s match against Arsenal will definitely not feature Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku (knee), Ben Chilwell (thigh), Romeo Lavia (ankle), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), or Carney Chukwuemeka (knee).
Even if captain Reece James, who was spotted practicing this week, isn’t judged well enough to start, Malo Gusto, who served a domestic ban, will step in to cover on the right side. Nicolas Jackson is very likely to start the game despite his wrist injury.
It is anticipated that Axel Disasi (thigh), Benoit Badiashile (thigh), Cole Palmer (thigh), Armando Broja (knee), and Marcus Bettinelli (knee) will return to Chelsea this weekend.
Conversely, Arsenal might be without three players when they play at Stamford Bridge: William Saliba (toe), Leandro Trossard (hamstring), and Bukayo Saka (hamstring). This month, they all pulled out of international competition citing health concerns. Saka will probably make the team for the game, though.
The likely starting lineup for Chelsea is as follows: Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill.
Arsenal’s likely starting lineup is as follows: Raya; Odegaard, Rice, Partey; Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko
Forecast:
With four victories over Chelsea in their past five games, Arsenal has a 42% chance of defeating them at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. There is a thirty percent likelihood that the Blues will win. Nonetheless, Chelsea is probably going to win the match 2-1.
