by Ian S. Palmer
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The biggest match on this weekend’s English Premier League calendar is a highly-anticipated London derby at the Emirates Stadium between hosts Arsenal and visiting Chelsea on Sunday, January 24. Arsenal currently sits on top of the league standings with Leicester City and are looking for their first league crown in a dozen years. Chelsea is the reigning champion, but are going through one of their worst seasons in recent history. Former manager Jose Mourinho of Portugal was sacked earlier in the season and replaced by former Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink of Holland. Both teams enter the game after drawing their matches last weekend. Chelsea drew 3-3 at home with Everton while Arsenal was held 0-0 at Stoke City.
Arsenal vs Chelsea – Pinnacle SOCCER BETTING LINE:
- Pinnacle currently lists Arsenal as the favorites at +111 with Chelsea +274 and a draw at +260
Arsenal vs Chelsea – Head To Head:
- The two teams met at Stamford Bridge earlier this campaign with Chelsea taking all three points with a 2-0 victory. However, Arsenal won their matchup in the Community Shield 1-0 at Wembley in August, but it is their only win in the past 10 meetings in all competitions. The gunners have just three wins in their last 17 meetings with their London rivals in blue. Overall, the two clubs have met 186 times in the past with Arsenal winning 72, losing 60 and drawing the other 54.
Arsenal enters the weekend in first place with 44 points from 13 wins, five draws and four losses with 37 goals scored and 21 allowed. Leicester city also has 44 points, but the Gunners own a better goal differential. Arsenal has posted victories at home to go with two draws and just one defeat. They’ve scored 16 goals and conceded six. They’ve recorded five clean sheets at home and have been shut out twice. Overall, Arsenal has 10 clean sheets on the season and have failed to score on five occasions. They’re unbeaten in their past six home matches with five wins and a draw.
Chelsea sits in 14th place in the 20-team league with 25 points from six wins, seven draws and nine losses. They’ve scored 31 times and allowed 34 goals against. Away from home, the Blues have managed just a pair of victories, three draws and five defeats and have scored 11 goals while conceding 15. They have three clean sheets on their travels and have been shut out four times. Overall, Chelsea has recorded half a dozen clean sheets and have failed to score in five matches. They have just one win in their last six road trips with two draws and three losses.
On the injury front, Chelsea is relatively healthy as Belgian international midfielder Eden Hazard and Spanish international striker Diego Costa are the only question marks while striker Radamel Falcao will definitely miss the game. As usual, Arsenal will be missing several key players and will be without English international midfielder Jack Wilshere as well as fellow midfielders Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky and striker Danny Welbeck. However, forward Alexis Sanchez may return to the lineup.
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