A half hour wait for action at the Bridge?
It’s only the second week of the new season and we have another meeting of two heavyweights. Chelsea host Arsenal but I ponder if the match will be a cracker form the very start?
Chelsea
Chelsea kicked their season off with a comfortable 3-0 victory away at Huddersfield, a win that would have felt good following a pre-season full of question marks. Much talk has surrounded the potential outgoings and likely incomings in terms of forwards but the collective performance of starting trio Pedro, Morata and Willian may see speculation die down, especially with Hazard still due back and capable of performing wonders this year (though personally I doubt this). Other options include the ever reliable Giroud and youngster Hudson-Odoi, who looks set to earn himself some first team minutes in light of an encouraging pre-season.
Ahead of this London derby, it’s hard to tell if Hazard will be selected from the start. Yes, he came on as a second half substitute against Huddersfield but, I mean, is he fully fit after such a small training period following his holiday post-world cup. Without him, I see Chelsea struggling to break Arsenal down, a bold view given the crushing statistics which count largely in favour of Chelsea - undefeated against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge since 2011.
Arsenal
There were not many positives for Arsenal to take from their opening defeat to City. It was a hard watch at times with The Gunners struggling to keep hold off possession and surrendering it cheaply when they gained it back. Up top they never really come close to troubling the City backline either.
Maitland Niles and 19-year-old Guendouzi will certainly have better days in an Arsenal shirt, the latter likely in need of a confidence boost after a horrid afternoon. Fortunately for the youngsters and the rest of the Arsenal team, you don’t play Man City every week.
Mind you, taking on Chelsea away isn’t far off in terms of difficult fixtures. There’s a feeling though that defending in high numbers will help suppress a Chelsea side lacking the star quality and physical prowess of yesteryear.
It will be interesting to see if Emery dares for a more offensive line-up by including both Aubameyang and Lacazette, but, in my view he’ll spurn the opportunity to guarantee Arsenal are of a sound defensive footing.
Match Tip
It’s beyond doubt that Chelsea should be favourites here but the odds shouldn’t be as short as they are with some bookmakers, especially with a draw very possible this early in the campaign.
Either way, I see Arsenal starting the game well and holding their hosts for most of the first half. That’s why I’ve gone for no goals to be scored before the 27th minute at odds of 1.83 with bet365.
