Overview
Arsenal easily reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 7-1 victory over PSV in the first leg. In the second leg, they played with confidence to focus on the Premier League arena.
Coach Mikel Arteta's team needs to give their all in the London derby against Chelsea, in the context that they want to keep their fragile hopes of winning the championship. Stars like Odegaard, Martinelli, Saliba, Partey and Nwaneri are likely to return to the Arsenal starting lineup.
The Gunners are currently in good form when facing teams in the Big Six with 10 consecutive unbeaten matches, including 6 wins and 4 draws (calculated after 90 minutes alone). Not to mention, if counting the results of the home matches at Emirates in the Premier League this season, The Gunners have defeated Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City and drawn with Liverpool. They have scored 12 goals and conceded just five in that time.
As for Chelsea, they entered the Arsenal battle after defeating Copenhagen in the Europa Conference League and winning the last 2 rounds in the Premier League. However, there are still certain concerns for coach Enzo Maresca's team when preparing to travel to the Emirates.
The Blues have been particularly bad away from home in recent Premier League games, having gone six consecutive games without a win (losing four and drawing two). Chelsea have also conceded 13 goals in that time. Facing a Arsenal side in good form, Chelsea will find it difficult to improve their results away from home.
In terms of head-to-head record, Arsenal are also better than Chelsea. The Emirates team has been unbeaten against the same city in the last 7 matches, including 5 wins.
Personnel situation
Arsenal have no further injury concerns, with Arteta claiming Saka is about to return. However, Raheem Sterling will not be eligible to face his home club.
On the other side of the front line, Chelsea could also play in a formation similar to the match against Copenhagen, when Nicolas Jackson has not recovered from injury.
Expected lineup:
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Partey, Odegaard, Rice, Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku, Neto.
The match between Arsenal and Chelsea takes place at 20:30 on March 16 (Vietnam time).
