Arsenal vs Chelsea: 29/12/2019 – match preview and predicted starting XIs | OneFootball

Arsenal vs Chelsea

Date: 29/12/2019

K/O: 14:00

Venue: Emirates Stadium

Referee: Craig Pawson

TV: Sky Sports Main Event

The Gunners welcome an out of confidence Chelsea side on Sunday who are coming off the back of a 2-0 defeat at home against bottom of the table dwellers Southampton.

New manager Mikel Arteta will be in charge of his first home game in an exciting London derby after a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth in his first game.

Having lost three of their last five Premier League games, Frank Lampard’s men will be a little short on confidence. An electric 2-0 victory against Spurs wasn’t enough to reinvigorate their spirits as they succumbed to yet another home loss against Southampton. Tammy Abraham has been enduring a mini goal drought but what is lacking is good service to him from the midfielders and full-backs. The Christmas period will definitely take a toll on some of the players fatigue and it will be interesting to see how Lampard lines them up on Sunday.

Arsenal bid farewell to their short term interim manager Freddie Ljungberg and welcomed old boy Mikel Arteta as their new head coach. With two draws and two losses in their last five, the home side will be looking to take advantage of an inconsistent Chelsea side and will be hoping that the ‘new manager bounce’ does just that.

This could be a game of wits as both young managers will be looking to tactically outsmart the other. Lampard will have an eye on keeping Aubameyang quiet and making sure his defence doesn’t leave too many gaps for the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette to run in to.

It will be of utmost importance to see how the Blues line up as they have experimented multiple times with a back three. The likes of Mount and Willian will be essential as the hosts have a vulnerable defence themselves and with injuries to first-team defenders, it’s not going to be easy for them at the back either.

Arteta will be looking to kick things off on a good note for his team and himself at the Emirates. He will be looking to exploit Chelsea’s defensive worries and it will be interesting to see if Pepe finally gets a look in as he is capable of being destructive, especially on the break.

Team News

Arsenal

The hosts will welcome back Chambers after suspension but young starlet Martinelli will be assessed ahead of the clash due to his hamstring injury. Tierney, Holding, Kolasinac, Ceballos and Bellerin are the notable long term absentees while Sokratis is a doubt as well.

Chelsea

Apart from long term absentee Loftus-Cheek, James and Alonso will be assessed ahead of the clash after they missed the last game against Southampton.

Predicted Starting XIs

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Maitland-Niles, Chambers, David Luiz, Saka; Torreira, Xhaka; Nelson, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette

Chelsea (3-4-3): Kepa; Tomori, Rudiger, Zouma; Azpilicueta, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso;  Willian, Abraham, Mount

Score Prediction: Arsenal 1-3 Chelsea

I feel the Blues will overcome the loss at the Bridge and bounce back with a derby day win as the likes of Willian, Mount and Abraham will be too hot to handle for the depleted Gunner’s defence.