Three days later than initially planned, Arsenal and Chelsea renew hostilities for a Premier League London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The contest was supposed to take place on Saturday evening but was moved to a midweek kickoff upon a revision from the Metropolitan Police, much to the dismay of supporters.
Match preview
Facing the biggest test of their title credentials yet, Arsenal did little to suggest that they can last the course when met with the end-of-season Manchester City juggernaut, who taught their former employee Mikel Arteta quite the footballing lesson in a 4-1 romping.
Kevin De Bruyne's brace, John Stones's header and Erling Braut Haaland's record-breaking 33rd Premier League goal of the season contributed to a comprehensive win for the reigning champions, and while the travelling fans were able to celebrate a well-taken consolation from Rob Holding, their side's title destiny is no longer in their own hands.
Thanks to Man City's 2-1 triumph over Fulham, Arteta's men have been knocked off their perch and into second place, although one silver lining from last week was Brighton & Hove Albion's loss to Nottingham Forest, which guaranteed Arsenal's return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
A top-four finish was the overriding goal for Arteta and co before the first ball was kicked this term, but a familiar sense of springtime dread is once again prevalent amid accusations of Arsenal 'bottling' the title - not completely unfounded given the manner of their draws with Liverpool, West Ham United and basement side Southampton.
Wednesday's loss at the Etihad marked the seventh game in a row in which Arsenal have both scored and conceded - shipping an alarming 11 goals in their last four games - but only Newcastle United have prevented the Gunners from scoring at the Emirates this season, and Chelsea are not exactly jumping for joy at the moment either.
With every passing week, Todd Boehly's peculiar decision to bring Frank Lampard back to Stamford Bridge is not being vindicated, as the Englishman's losing streak stretched to a worrying five games when West London rivals Brentford came to town and left with a 2-0 victory.
The returning Cesar Azpilicueta had an own goal to his name in the 37th minute, and as profligacy reared its ugly head for Chelsea once again, Bryan Mbeumo took advantage with a well-taken second for the Bees 12 minutes from time, and 12th place is appropriately where Lampard's side find themselves right now.
Crystal Palace leapfrogged their London rivals on Saturday thanks to their 4-3 success over West Ham, leaving Chelsea just 10 points clear of the relegation zone and - incredibly - still at risk of demotion to the Championship. It is also mathematically impossible for the Blues to challenge for the top four, but that ship had sailed some time ago.
While the Blues' squad are said to be excited by the imminent appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager, Lampard is out to avoid a slice of unwanted history at the Emirates, where defeat would mark a 20th loss of the campaign for the first time in Chelsea's Premier League era - they last suffered as many beatings in 1987-88.
Now winless in eight straight matches since Graham Potter masterminded a 3-1 triumph over Leicester City in March, Chelsea have just the one goal to their name since Lampard's homecoming - Conor Gallagher's deflected strike versus Brighton - and only one of their last 10 Premier League away games has ended in victory.
A Gabriel Magalhaes finish propelled Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, over a year on from the Blues' Romelu Lukaku-inspired 2-0 victory at the Emirates in August 2021 - a similar showing from ex-Gunner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would not go amiss for the travelling fans here.
Team News
Prior to Arsenal's Manchester mauling, Arteta conceded that William Saliba would be highly unlikely to recover from his back problem in time for the visit of Chelsea, and fears are growing that the centre-back may not see the field again this season.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are also watching on from the sidelines with their season-ending knee injuries, and while Arsenal may have left the Etihad with bruised egos, they did not pick up any fresh fitness concerns and should stick with a largely recognisable formula.
However, Leandro Trossard left the Etihad with his head held high after assisting Holding's consolation during a bright 30-minute cameo, and the Belgian could challenge Gabriel Martinelli for a starting role as he aims to score against Chelsea for the second time this season, having done so in Brighton & Hove Albion's 4-1 October romping.
Untimely injury concerns to key players are also bedevilling Chelsea, who have lost Mason Mount and Reece James for the remainder of the season with pelvic and hamstring problems, while Marc Cucurella is also facing a couple of weeks out with a thigh concern of his own.
Kalidou Koulibaly (hamstring), Armando Broja (knee) and reverse goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli (unspecified) are keeping the trio company in the infirmary, while Kai Havertz (knee) will need a once-over, but the forward should be passed fit for the derby.
Should Havertz be given the green light to return to the attack, Aubameyang - who is sure to be subjected to a frosty reception - should accept a spot on the bench again, as Joao Felix also attempts to inject some life into a misfiring Chelsea attack.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard; Jesus
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Fofana, Chilwell; Fernandez, Kante, Gallagher; Felix, Havertz, Sterling
We say: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea may not be able to buy a goal at the moment, but Arsenal and clean sheets do not go hand-in-hand at the Emirates, and this still has the potential to be a banana skin of a match for the Gunners against a Blues side determined to deal further damage to their adversaries' hopes of glory.
The hosts' defensive nous and build-up play is evidently worse with no Saliba in the fold, but the visit of a morale-depleted Chelsea side is a prime opportunity for a return to winning ways for the Gunners, who may have to survive a couple of scares en route to victory and return to the summit, for 24 hours at least.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
