Arsenal v Chelsea – Match Preview and Betting Tips
Jose Mourinho suggested before the Tottenham-Liverpool fixture at the weekend that this fixture would be first against second. In fact, Liverpool's emphatic win means that this third against first, but it is arguably the most important fixture of the Premier League season so far, between two teams that quite clearly feature in the title race this term.
Arsenal must recover from a pretty terrible ten days in their season during which they dropped points against Everton, failed to claim top spot in their Champions League group after losing to Napoli, lost 6-3 to Manchester City, and then drew reigning European Champions Bayern Muninch in the Champions League knockout stages. How well they recover for this challenging fixture will be a test of the resilience and morale inherent in their squad.
Chelsea remain one of the favourites to win the division, despite the fact that there seems to be deficiencies in their team and squad. The general feeling about Chelsea is that they lack a top quality striker, while even Mourinho himself has bemoaned some of his team's defending in recent weeks. This is by no means the ruthless Blues line-up which dominated the Premier League during Mourinho's first spell at the club, but they are still a top quality side who could very well ultimately win the Premier League this season despite their shortcomings.
This match will likely be a battle in midfield, as indeed most top games are. Arsenal will have a difficult selection poser, with a fully fit squad in that area of the field now, except for Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, and Theo Walcott having scored twice against Manchester City. One of the Gunners' big hitters will have to miss out, and Wenger has the tough task of deciding which one to omit.
This will undoubtedly be a close match between two evenly matched teams, and both would probably take a draw. Thus, considering this outcome offers the best odds it seems logical to back it.
Selection: Draw – 12/5 with Bet365
Arsenal v Chelsea - Match Preview and Betting Tips,
I am a bit confused? Why are you sending me an email informing me you think the Arsenal V Chelsea match could be a draw? Some 5 hours or so after the game has finished???
Norrie
Hi Norrie, apologies for the confusion. One of our mail servers failed and sent the email out on the wrong day. However, you’ll notice we posted this review several days ago, well in advance of the match