The club from Stamford Bridge placed their bet on Maresca in the summer before last. On his first attempt, he guided the team to fourth place in the Premier League and claimed both the Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup. The new season was going fairly well, though not without setbacks, but a fallout with the management led to his resignation right at New Year’s! Already without the Italian, they lost to Fulham 1-2. However, they did thrash Charlton 5-1 in the cup.
Arteta enjoys much more trust. Indeed, he has turned his side into a club that has finished second three years in a row. Now, he hopes to finally win the Premier League title. They reached the break as sole leaders. Although the last round ended 0-0 against Liverpool. In the Champions League, they’ve secured six wins. On the eve of this match, they confidently beat Portsmouth 4-1 in the cup.
In the League Cup, the current hosts benefited from favorable draws. They overcame modest Lincoln City, then Swansea City in the quarter-finals, and also managed to beat Wolverhampton 4-3 away. The visitors advanced with an experimental line-up past Port Vale, Brighton, and, in the previous round via penalties, Crystal Palace.
Chelsea have won just one of their last six matches
On average, Chelsea score 1.62 goals and concede 1.14 goals per match
62% of Chelsea’s matches end with both teams scoring and the average total goals per match is 2.76
Arsenal have won seven of their last nine matches
On average, Arsenal score 1.9 goals and concede 0.67 goals per match
48% of Arsenal’s matches end with both teams scoring and the average total goals per match is 2.57.
Chelsea (probable lineup): Sanchez – Cucurella, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, Gusto – Caicedo, Santos, Neto, Fernandez, Palmer – Delap
Arsenal (probable lineup): Arrizabalaga – Lewis-Skelly, Calafiori, Saliba, Timber – Eze, Nørgaard, Merino – Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Madueke.
In the last eight derbies, Arsenal have won five and three have ended in draws, including a 1-1 tie in November.
