Date: Saturday, 22 March Venue: Stamford Bridge Kick-Off: 12:45
Team News
Chelsea are without midfielders Ramies and Willian, who are both suspended following their dismissals in last weekend's defeat to Aston Villa. They are also without Ashley Cole, who misses the clash with his former club with a knee problem. However, Chelsea have Mohamed Salah and Nemanja Matic available again after the duo were ineligible for Europe in midweek. Arsenal may be without last weekend's North London derby hero Tomas Rosicky, if he is missing then they are extremely short in midfield. Mathieu Flamini is the likely replacement but Kim Kallstrom is a potential alternative. The Gunners are without Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and About Diaby.
Key Stats
Chelsea have only failed to score against the Gunners four times in the last decade, though one of those occasions was in December at the Emirates in a game that finished 0-0. Arsenal have only scored once in the past four meetings between the two sides but the North London side have scored more goals at Stamford Bridge in these fixtures than the home team. The Gunners last victory in West London came in 2011, where they emerged with a 5-3 victory. Mourinho has never lost a home league game in charge of Chelsea, a run that stretches for 75 games. Arsenal have won just two of the last 11 meetings with Chelsea, losing seven of those games. However, they will hope to secure a second London derby victory in a week during Wenger's 1,00th match in charge. In head to head fixtures overall, Arsenal have the better record with 70 victories compared to Chelsea's 56. Tomorrow's meeting is the 180th game between the two sides.
The lunchtime tie could have a drastic influence in where the Premier League title will end up this season. Defeat for Arsenal will put them seven points behind Chelsea and theoretically out of the title race but victory will narrow the gap to just a single point, as well as opening the door for Liverpool and Manchester City to take advantage. Before the game, the main point of focus has been the fact that the match will be Arsene Wenger's 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal. The distraction helps the Gunners, as the focus has been turned away from their recent poor record at Stamford Bridge and Wenger's inability to beat Jose Mourinho. Chelsea will be looking to extend their unbeaten run under the Portuguese manager and it is highly likely that they will do so. A victory may be a challenge given the problems shown during last weekend's defeat at Villa Park but another loss is unimaginable. A draw may be a likely result. However, Arsenal will be looking to achieve the best possible outcome but this will be difficult considering their injury problems in midfield. Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil and Walcott are all missing for the Gunners and they are arguably the four best players in Wenger's squad. The Premier League title may be a push for the Gunners but it is still achievable. As Wenger said in his press conference, if Arsenal win all of their remaining matches they will win the double. Prediction 1-1 source- sky sports
Josh has had work featured in the Evening Gazette and on Newcastle United website. He is a Multimedia Journalism student at Teesside University and runs a successful sports blog. He also enjoys films, comics and TV, writing about anything he can. Josh has recently started writing his first of what he hopes will be many books.
