What: English Premier League
Who: Chelsea vs Arsenal
When: Saturday 22nd March, 2014, at 12:45 UK Time
Where: Stamford Bridge, London, England

Blues Try To Rebound

Chelsea and Arsenal are set to do battle in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off at Stamford Bridge in a match that will have real bearing on the league title. Chelsea lead the Premier League by four points over Liverpool, however the Reds, Arsenal and Manchester City have all played fewer matches and could all close the gap – if Manchester City win their three games in hand they would top the table by three points. This shows how important Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa was last weekend. That loss opened the door and now all four teams have legitimate title hopes.

The Blues will look to get their title challenge back on track and they warmed up by dispatching Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday to advance to the quarter-finals of the competition. Jose Mourinho could not hide his delight at Chelsea’s progress indicating it was a big moment for the club.

The Portuguese has a good record when facing Arsenal, having never tasted defeat against the Arsene Wenger-led side. But Mourinho has played down the significance of that statistic.

“The game is not coach against coach, it is team against team, it is Chelsea against Arsenal. I haven't even played Arsenal with Inter or [Real] Madrid or Porto; I have only played Arsenal with Chelsea. Records don't play any role”, he explained.

1,000th Match For Arsene Wenger

The Chelsea clash will be Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th match leading Arsenal. The Frenchman’s long reign has led to many trophies, but Arsenal are trying to break out of a trophy-less drought that is threatening to last nine seasons. The Gunners are better placed this year than any other in recent memory to win the title and they find themselves still in the FA Cup as well having made it to the semi-finals of the competition.

There was disappointment in going out to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, but that was tempered by a north London derby victory over Tottenham last Sunday. Coupled with Chelsea’s defeat, that win put Wenger’s bunch firmly back in the title hunt. Another London derby now awaits at Stamford Bridge and Wenger believes that in this season’s title race anything can still happen.

“It’s the best title race I can remember in terms of the number of teams still involved with nine matches left to play, eight for some”, he said.

“This is certainly the highest number I have seen competing for the Premier League. The league is so competitive that anyone can drop points anywhere”, added the Arsenal manager.
 

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Recent form

Chelsea:
Chelsea 4-0 Tottenham (08/03; Premier League)
Aston Villa 1-0 Chelsea (11/03; Premier League)
Chelsea 2-0 Galatasaray (18/03; Champions League)

Arsenal:
Arsenal 4-1 Everton (08/03; FA Cup)
Bayern Munich 1-1 Arsenal (11/03; Champions League)
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (16/03; Premier League)

Key absences

Chelsea: Ashley Cole; Willian (suspended); Ramires (suspended)

Arsenal: Mesut Ozil; Aaron Ramsey; Theo Walcott; Jack Wilshere; Abou Diaby; Tomas Rosicky (doubt)

Players to watch

Chelsea – Oscar: The Brazilian midfielder began the season is sizzling form though he hit something of a mid-season slump. In recent matches, Oscar has regained his spot in the starting eleven and has returned to his previous good form. With the ability to find openings with his passing, track back effectively and get in amongst the goals, Oscar’s all-around play could be a huge asset to Chelsea down the stretch.

Arsenal – Laurent Koscielny: The Frenchman has been a rock in the centre of Arsenal’s defence and stood firm along with partner Per Mertesacker against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. Koscielny is fast becoming rated one of the best centre-backs in European football, but he will have that budding reputation well tested at Stamford Bridge.

Match Prediction

These are the sort of matches supporters wait for every season. This clash should be special being such a long-standing rivalry, but also having huge importance with regard to the league table. Both teams have some key absences, but that shouldn’t take away from this match as a spectacle as both sides have deep squads with tremendous quality. Chelsea will have the home advantage and perhaps will be the slight favourites, but Arsenal look to have some mettle to them this season and could spring a minor upset. Look for Chelsea to start fast, but on Wenger’s 1,000 game in charge the Gunners should have enough to claim a draw, a result which admittedly would not suit either team. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal.

Betting on Chelsea v Arsenal? Make sure you read our betting preview first!
 

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