Mathieu Flamini has admitted that he will have his hands full attempting to marshall former Gunner Cesc Fabregas in today's London derby as the Spaniard is "a great player with unbelievable talent".

Fabregas will face Arsenal in the league for the first time this afternoon when Chelsea host the club that the midfielder joined as a 16-year-old.

While Flamini chose a return to the Emirates following a spell abroad, Fabregas opted to link up with Chelsea in the summer and Flamini has warned his teammates to be "careful" of his former captain.

"I will probably mark him and it won't be an easy game because he's a great player with unbelievable talent," Flamini told the club's official website.

"He works for the team and he's a top guy with a great mentality. He's definitely one of the players we need to be careful of on Sunday."

Last season's tie saw Chelsea romp to a 6-0 win over Arsenal, who saw Kieran Gibbs wrongly dismissed for deliberate handball after just 15 minutes in a case of mistaken identity.