Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on March 22nd (5:45 AM Pacific, 12:45 GMT) for an epic Premier League clash that could potentially decide the fate of both clubs. Chelsea sit in 1st place with 66 points while Arsenal are in 3rd with 62 points. At this stage in the game every point matters and neither team can afford to give up anything.
Chelsea is coming off of an impressive win against Galatasaray. Chelsea’s defense was able to withhold the Galatasaray offense from barely threatening Petr Čech’s goal. In the Premier League Chelsea is coming off of a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was extremely disappointed with his squad’s performance. The late goal from Fabian Delph was extremely demoralizing for the Blues who were hoping to at least scavenge one point.
Their game in the Champions League against Galatasaray showed their improvement and is a sign of better things to come.
Arsenal last played on March 16th against Tottenham and were able to scrape away with an early goal in the second minute with a beauty from Tomas Rosicky. Despite their latest win, Arsenal are currently having a rocky month in terms of form. With only three wins in their last six games anything can be expected from the Gunners. After playing Chelsea, Arsenal take on Swansea and then Manchester City. This may be a sign of Wenger resting his players for the upcoming games.
The key player for Chelsea in this game will be Nemanja Matic. Despite him being in the team for only a couple months now, he has secured a starting spot in the Chelsea midfield, something that is not attained easily. Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s midfields could be easily debated as the top two midfields in the Premier League.
The key player for Arsenal will be Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman must score. The Arsenal first choice striker has been out of form recently, but if he can score at least one goal his confidence will surely be renewed.
Arsene Wenger just managed his 1000th game for Arsenal and will be looking to continue this monumental achievement with a victory. Jose Mourinho does not have such an accolade yet but will be looking for the win just as much as Wenger.
Chelsea vs Arsenal Prediction:
This game will be extremely close. Two great teams will be battling against each other for 90 minutes. I predict a 2-2 tie, there is not enough to separate the two squads.
TV Info: NBC Sports Network, and BT Sport 1 (UK).
Possible Lineups
Click here for Chelsea’s Lineup Analysis, and here for Arsenal’s Lineup.
