Arsenal Gear Up for Title Clash Against Chelsea in London Derby

Arsenal are in midweek Premier League action on Tuesday night as they welcome London rivals Chelsea to the Emirates. The Gunners earned some much-needed respite on Saturday as they overcame an injury-hit Wolves at Molineux to secure a crucial win after a tough period which saw them exit the Champions League. Manchester City will have two games in hand on Arsenal by the time they take on Brighton on Thursday, and it was they who ended Chelsea’s FA Cup charge at the weekend. Bernardo Silva’s scrappy late winner saw the Cityzens advance into the final at the Blues’ expense.

It’s been a campaign of tumult in west London, with Mauricio Pochettino failing to ignite the Todd Boehly era. The west Londoners are playing for very little down the stretch with a mid-table finish likely, but they’d certainly take great pleasure from crippling Arsenal’s title charge. These two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture as Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners fought back from 2-0 down. Here’s our preview of Tuesday night’s clash in north London.

Two former Blues could start for the Gunners on Tuesday, as there are no fresh injury concerns from Saturday’s trip to Molineux, with Arteta likely to just be without Jurrien Timber on Tuesday night. The boss will likely make a couple of changes to his team, with Takehiro Tomiyasu potentially coming in at left-back. Leandro Trossard deserves to keep his place in the frontline. Jorginho and Kai Havertz are both in contention to start against their former club.

Chelsea’s injury list is considerably longer than the Gunners’, with Pochettino set to be without a long list of players for their trip to the Emirates. The Blues will be without the likes of Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, and Wesley Fofana, while Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto, who was forced off at the weekend, are both doubts. Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi should come into the XI, with superstar Cole Palmer likely to start down the right flank.