(4-2-3-1) Kai Havertz was substituted for Jesus in the Arsenal line-up against Chelsea, as Mikel Arteta pledged to avenge his previous loss.
The Premier League gameweek 11 undercard serves as a prelude to the main event at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, where Chelsea and Arsenal engage in a colossal London derby.
It was the hosts who curiously exercised their attacking muscles in midweek, and Enzo Maresca’s team are keeping the Gunners out of the Champions League places by virtue of a superior goal difference.
Preview of the match
Chelsea delivered a harsh awakening to Armenian minnows FC Noah on Thursday evening, squaring up a team that was established five years after their maiden Champions League victory in 2012. The English capital was the site of an extraordinary eight goals.
Chelsea, one of six teams in the Conference League to have won each of their opening three games, is surprisingly sitting at the summit on goal difference after their astonishing 8-0 victory on November 7. They are pursuing the continental crown that has consistently eluded their upcoming visitors.
The Blues required a dose of Ecuadorian inspiration to prevent a loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend, where a Bruno Fernandes penalty was awarded just four minutes prior to Moises Caicedo’s stunning volley. This was due to a variety of factors, including unpleasant awakenings and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The fourth-placed Blues, who are one of three teams with 18 points from a potential 30 – alongside Arsenal and Aston Villa – have the potential to finish the weekend in the top three if they surpass Nottingham Forest’s result against Newcastle United. Maresca’s team now has an eight-game unbeaten home run to safeguard in all tournaments.
Nevertheless, this season, the Blues have yet to maintain a clean sheet in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge, having gone six games without one since stopping West Ham United in May. Arsenal, on the other hand, have not made significant strides in the attacking department during the early part of November.
Arsenal suffered a 1-0 defeat with minimal offensive inspiration, regardless of whether the venue was St James’ Park or San Siro. The difference on Wednesday evening was a controversial Hakan Calhanoglu penalty, as Newcastle United had previously been defeated by a magnificent Alexander Isak header.
Arsenal’s defeat to Inter Milan could be likened to a game of noughts and crosses. Mikel Arteta’s team executed an extraordinary 46 crosses at San Siro, but none of them were successful, resulting in their first continental loss of the 2024-25 campaign.
Arteta and his team have been recuperating from the unexpected resignation of much-admired sporting director Edu, and the Halloween period has been a true horror show for them. The Gunners are currently fifth in the Premier League and seven points behind leaders Liverpool, with a three-game winless streak.
Nevertheless, Arsenal has not suffered three consecutive Premier League away losses without scoring since the 1994-95 season, a period during which the majority of the team’s players were not yet born. They have demonstrated their proficiency in capital contests, as they have won their last six London derbies by an aggregate score of 22-3.
In the latter half of the previous season, Chelsea was defeated 5-0, despite being held to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. However, Arteta’s team had gone five games without a loss at the Blues’ West London home.
Cole Palmer was absent from the Conference League league phase due to his non-selection. However, the Blues sensation is still experiencing the repercussions of Lisandro Martinez’s challenge from the previous weekend. Chelsea head coach Maresca implemented the customary 11 alterations in midweek.
Maresca is optimistic that Palmer, who has been summoned to the England squad, will be able to make a swift return to the first XI this weekend. However, Jadon Sancho is also uncertain due to an illness and an injury, and Omari Kellyman (hamstring) is unavailable.
Palmer’s 12 direct involvements this season are the most in the Premier League, with seven of them being his own and five of them being assists. However, Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix both argued that Palmer should be replaced with braces in the destruction of Noah.
Declan Rice, an Arsenal midfielder who spent seven years in the Chelsea academy system, is still questionable for this crucial match due to a foot injury that is suspected to be a fractured toe. This player is among the influential English midfielders that their managers are anxious about.
As far as the Gunners’ medical team was concerned, it was one in, one out in midweek. Martin Odegaard made his long-awaited return from an ankle injury as a late substitute, and Arteta should have no misgivings about reintroducing him to the XI amid his side’s creativity crisis.
Formerly known as blue However, Kai Havertz will require a thorough examination following a physical altercation with Yann Bisseck of Inter on Wednesday. Riccardo Calafiori (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) will not be able to return until after the international break. Furthermore, Raheem Sterling is prohibited from confronting his parent organisation.
Chelsea’s potential starting lineup: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, James; Caicedo, Lavia; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson
Arsenal’s potential starting lineup: Raya; White; Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Jorginho, Partey; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli
