Skip to content

Marquee matchup: Arsenal travels to Stamford Bridge with hope, not optimism

Darren Staples / Reuters

The last time Chelsea hosted Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, the Blues went 12 points clear in the Premier League with an emphatic victory. The game took place amid their renaissance last season, but it continued a tradition of beating the Gunners at the ground. In the last five meetings there, the club from north London lost each time and was outscored 15-2.

Arsenal will inevitably cross London with hopes of snapping the losing streak, but it doesn't look good for the Gunners, and not just because of their recent results at Stamford Bridge. They're struggling to pick up points on the road, evidenced by a 1-0 defeat at Stoke City and a 4-0 loss at Liverpool. On the flip side, they beat Chelsea in the last two battles, triumphing over the Blues in the final of the FA Cup and the Community Shield.

Can Arsenal win a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge for the first time in six years?

Injuries and suspensions

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Chelsea and Arsenal are both entering the match at near-full strength. Danny Drinkwater, who suffered a calf injury, is the only footballer who is unavailable for the Blues, while - with the seemingly eternal exception of Santi Cazorl - the only player that the Gunners can't call upon is Francis Coquelin, who is fighting a hamstring ailment.

Projected lineups

Chelsea's starting XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso; Pedro, Morata, Hazard

Arsenal's starting XI: Cech; Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil, Lacazette, Welbeck

What to watch

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Barring a formation change from Arsene Wenger, there will be a back three at both ends of the pitch.

Wenger took a page from Antonio Conte's playbook towards the end of the last season and, as a result, Arsenal is regularly taking the field with a three-man defence that features a combination of Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, and Laurent Koscielny. Meanwhile, Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac play as wing-backs.

Chelsea, meanwhile, is continuing to deploy a back three after finding so much success with the tactic en route to the Premier League title. Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, and Antonio Rudiger are part of Conte's rotation, and all five of them seem capable of carrying out the Italian tactician's strategy while Davide Zappacosta and Marcos Alonso feature in the wing-back positions.

When Arsenal defeated Chelsea on penalty kicks in the Community Shield, it was Holding, Monreal, and Kolasinac at one end, and Rudiger, Luiz, and Cahill at the other. The Gunners pressed the Blues with a 3-4-2-1 formation, and vice versa as the latter grew into the game. Both clubs had a difficult time finding holes in the opponent's back three, and both clubs only scored following a set piece.

Whether it's a similar story at Stamford Bridge remains to be seen. Arsenal's last league win at the stadium came in 2011, when Robin van Persie tallied a hat-trick as the Gunners won 5-3. It was a battle of back fours that day, as the club's defence starred the likes of Johan Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, and Andre Santos. Chelsea's defence starred Jose Bosingwa, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, and Ashley Cole. Four defenders did nothing to stop the barrage of goals.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox