Chelsea will face Arsenal in a London derby as the underdogs for the first time in many years. In midweek action, the Graham Potter’s Blues won their Champions League group, and Arsenal’s victory over Zurich sealed their passage to the Europa League Round of 16. While Chelsea struggled to hold on to their victory over Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal remained composed and outplayed their opponents to a 1-0 win. In the Premier League, the teams are separated by 10 points, and Arsenal could go 13 points clear of their London rivals if they secure a victory at Stamford Bridge-where they have won their last two matches.
Graham Potter eventually lost his first match as Chelsea manager after remaining unbeaten in each of his first eight games in charge with a 4-1 away loss to his previous team Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, with his team scoring two own goals at the Amex. Potter will be looking to make it four wins from his seven Premier League games against Arsenal with three points at Stamford Bridge. The Blues did recover in midweek, though, with a 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb to secure top spot in Group E and book their place in the Champions League last 16.
With a 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest last Sunday, the Gunners have now recorded 10 wins from their first 12 Premier League games. This was the first league home victory by five goals or more for Arsenal since Arsene Wenger left the team. Mikel Arteta’s team has won their last four London derbies in the Premier League; the last time they won three or more straight matches at Stamford Bridge was from April 1974 to October 2013 (five).
Arsenal is the only team to score a goal in the first 30 minutes of all Premier League matches this season, having scored 11 times, more than any other team. Arsenal are favourites to win this match and Betfair is offering a sweet 17/10 for Arteta’s men to emerge with all three points on Sunday.