A big midweek in the Premier League gets underway on Tuesday evening when two London outfits clash at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal look to extend their lead at the top of the table when they play host to Chelsea.
Arsenal go into the contest on top of the table on goal difference only so they can move three points clear with a win but a victory for the Blues would see them move into seventh spot in the standings and on course for a return to European football next term.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the TNT Sports 1 channel with the build-up to the clash beginning at 7pm ahead of the 8pm kick off.
Arsenal
Last week wasn’t the best for Arsenal with their title chances dented by a defeat to Aston Villa before they exited the Champions League in Munich, however to their credit they bounced back with a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend and now get the chance to pile the pressure on their fellow title challengers, albeit they know they go into this fixture without control of their own destiny in the overall scheme of things.
Arsenal have won 12 of their 16 home matches this term so the Emirates Stadium has been something of a fortress but they did come up short in their last home game and will be looking to bounce back here. The reason why the Gunners are in the position that they are in this title race is because they are the leading scorers in the competition, while also having conceded the fewest number of goals. They will look to maintain that dominance here.
Chelsea
The general narrative is that this has been a terrible season for Chelsea. I don’t think there is any option to consider it a successful one by any means but it shouldn’t be forgotten that they have made one cup final, lost out in the semi-final of the other cup and with seven games left in their season still have the chance of finishing in a European place in the league table, albeit probably not as high a spot as they would have been targeting.
While Chelsea will have to bounce back from the crush of losing the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend, they do go into this match unbeaten in eight matches and by and large this term they have played up against the better sides in the competition. One area of concern would be their away form which has yielded just five wins from 15 matches in the Premier League this season. Those 15 games have contained 53 goals so they are far too open on their travels.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account and bet £10 to get up to £20 in free bets! Perfect offer for the Premier League! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Team News
Jurrien Timber was involved in an under-21 match over the weekend as he bids to make his was back from a knee injury which has kept him out of the majority of the season. This game might come too soon for him and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Chelsea hoshot Cole Palmer has been ill since the defeat to Manchester City at the weekend so he is a doubt for this one. Malo Gusto will be assessed but Ben Chilwell could be involved. The game comes too soon for Christopher Nkunku.
Betting
I expect Arsenal to win this match but we’re not going to get a great deal of joy in backing them to do so as a single because they are plenty short enough to come out on top so I am looking to find some juice in the price and it might well come on the Asian handicap line where Arsenal are being asked to cover a 1.25 handicap line. I think that is well within their compass given that eight of their 12 home wins this season have been by more than a goal.
Two of the four which saw them win by a solitary goal were on the opening day of the season where they would have been getting up to speed and Manchester City who don’t lose by more than one very often. The concern I have with Chelsea is that they average nearly two goals against on the road this season and now head to the leading scorers in the division, who themselves averages almost 2.5 goals per game at home, and if Cole Palmer does miss out here, as the consensus appears to be that he will, I don’t see Chelsea punching too many holes in this Arsenal defence. I think Arsenal to cover the Asian line at around evens is good enough for me.
Tips
Back Arsenal (-1.25AH) to beat Chelsea for a 3/10 stake at 1.99 with Bet365
