Preview: Chelsea v Arsenal

[Karl]

Chelsea v Arsenal




Sunday, 7 February 2010
CHELSEA v ARSENAL
Possession

• Chelsea 50%
• Arsenal 50%

Attempts on target

• Chelsea 0
• Arsenal 0

Attempts off target

• Chelsea 0
• Arsenal 0

Corners

• Chelsea 0
• Arsenal 0

Fouls

• Chelsea 0
• Arsenal 0

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Date: Sunday, 7 February 2010
Kick-off: 1600 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Live, local radio, live on Sky Sports 1 & highlights on Match of the Day 2

FSC


TEAM NEWS
Deposed England captain John Terry will lead Chelsea against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Ashley Cole has fully recovered from an ankle problem and is poised to start against his former club, while John Mikel Obi is also available.
Arsenal forward Eduardo has failed to recover from the hamstring strain he sustained at Aston Villa last week.



Midfielder Abou Diaby could return from the calf injury he suffered a fortnight ago.
Chelsea
Suspended: None Doubtful: None



Injured: Belletti (calf), Bosingwa & Essien (both knee)



Arsenal
Suspended: None Doubtful: Diaby (calf)



Injured: Djourou & Vela (both knee), Eduardo (hamstring), Gibbs (foot), Merida & Van Persie (both ankle)


MATCH PREVIEW
The question of leadership has become a recurring theme for Chelsea in the last week or so, and now it is the turn of Arsenal to do the interrogating.
Every game now is very, very important. Every game can decide the future of the season


Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti

A Chelsea win would ensure they end

the weekend where they started it, on top of the table. Defeat could let in Manchester United and allow Arsenal to recover some of the ground they have lost after only taking a point from their last two games.



Arsenal had put together a 10-match unbeaten run prior to last week's defeat by United, steadily eroding the 11-point advantage Chelsea enjoyed after winning at the Emirates Stadium in November.



Since that game, Chelsea's frailties, particularly from set-pieces, have too often been exposed when playing away. During the 1-1 draw at Hull in midweek they bore the look of a team distracted by the media attention on embattled leader John Terry, who lost the England captaincy on Friday following revelations about his private life.



One affair in which anyone at Chelsea has been cleared of wrongdoing is that of illegally inducing teenage forward Gael Kakuta to breach his contract with Lens when he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2007. Thursday's decision means that Chelsea's transfer ban has been lifted. Whether they will be bolstering a championship-winning squad in the summer is yet to be answered.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• The Gunners have only won two of their last 15 competitive games against Chelsea (W2, D5, L8).

• The last four meetings between these clubs have been won by the away side - Chelsea on three occasions, and Arsenal once.

• Chelsea have the best head-to-head record of the Big Four clubs this season, winning all three league matches without conceding a goal. Arsenal have the worst head-to-head record, losing three of their four matches and conceding nine goals.

• Didier Drogba has scored 10 goals in his last nine matches against Arsenal in all competitions.
Chelsea
• Carlo Ancelotti's side are unbeaten in their last 12 matches, including nine league games (W5, D4).

• They are unbeaten in 23 successive home league matches since losing 2-1 to Arsenal on 30 November 2008.

• The Blues have kept 11 clean sheets this season, more than any other side in the division.

• Chelsea have conceded 15 of their 20 league goals this season from set-pieces.

• John Obi Mikel is poised to make his 100th Premier League appearance for Chelsea.


Arsenal
• The Gunners lost for the first time in 11 league matches when beaten 3-1 by Manchester United last Sunday.

• They are the Premier League's leading scorers with 60 goals in 24 matches.

• Arsene Wenger needs one win to register 300 as a Premier League manager. He will become the second manager to reach this milestone after Sir Alex Ferguson.

• William Gallas will make his 100th Premier League appearance for Arsenal. He played 225 games for Chelsea from 2001 to 2006.

LEADING GOALSCORERS

Chelsea
Drogba: 20 goals (15 league); Lampard: 13 goals (10 league)




Arsenal
Fabregas: 14 goals (11 league);
Arshavin & van Persie: 8 goals (7 league)

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistant referees: Simon Beck & Richard West
Fourth official: Peter Walton

[Karl]

Squad sheets: Chelsea v Arsenal

Squad sheets: Chelsea v Arsenal

guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 February 2010 13.59 GMT

Arsenal are not out of contention for the title, but they will feel tomorrow that the immediate target is to restore credibility after the sobering loss to Manchester United. Arsène Wenger's side won the fixture at Stamford Bridge last season. Chelsea will feel they are in better shape as a club nowadays, but their performance was lacklustre in the draw at Hull. Didier Drogba did score there but it will be important for the Ivorian and Nicolas Anelka to combine more convincingly in the remainder of the programme. Kevin McCarra

Venue Stamford Bridge

Tickets Sold out

Last season Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2

Referee M Dean

This season's matches 16 Y71, R2, 4.56 cards per game

Odds Chelsea 5-6 Arsenal 4-1 Draw 13-5

Probable starters in bold, contenders in light. Photograph: Graphic Chelsea

Subs from Hilário, Turnbull, Ferreira, Alex, Hutchinson, Sturridge, Deco, Mikel, Zhirkov, Bruma, Kakuta, Matic, Borini


Doubtful None


Injured Belletti (knee, 20 Feb), Essien (knee, 24 Feb), Bosingwa (knee, Mar)


Suspended None


Form guide DWWWWD


Disciplinary record Y32 R2


Leading scorer Drogba 15
Arsenal

Subs from Fabianski, Mannone, Traoré, Silvestre, Campbell, Ramsey, Eboué, Diaby, Walcott, Mérida, Rosicky, Coquelin


Doubtful Campbell (groin), Diaby (calf), Mérida (foot)


Injured Eduardo (hamstring, 20 Feb), Vela (knee, 20 Feb), Djourou (knee, Apr), Van Persie (ankle, Apr), Gibbs (foot, May)


Suspended None


Form guide LDWWDW


Disciplinary record Y34 R0


Leading scorer Fábregas 11
Match pointers

• Chelsea are on a run of 35 home matches in all competitions without a defeat since losing to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge last season

• Arsenal have not had a player sent off since Emmanuel Eboué was dismissed after 37 minutes against Tottenham on 8 February last year

• Didier Drogba has scored 10 goals in his last nine appearances against Arsenal in all competitions

• Arsenal have scored 18 goals from outside the penalty area so far this season, five more than they managed in the whole of 2008-09

• Chelsea have lost only two of their last 15 competetive meetings with Arsenal

[Warlord]

My prediction. Chelsea 3-0 over Arsenal ending their title hopes. Drogba likes scoring gainst tha Gunners.

[Karl]

Chelsea v Arsenal preview Stamford Bridge: Sunday showdown


Stamford Bridge: Sunday showdown
PREDICTIONS:

skysports.com's prediction: 2-0

One to Watch: Didier Drogba

Arsenal are hoping to get their Premier League title bid back on track as they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Sunday.

The Gunners suffered a demoralising home defeat to champions Manchester United last week, leaving them off the pace heading into the game, which can bee seen live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1.

With a potential gap of nine points on offer for table-toppers Chelsea, while a win for the visitors would shorten the deficit to just three, both sides will be viewing this clash as a six-pointer in the title race.

Arsene Wenger's men have suffered home defeats to United and Chelsea this term, but have lost just once on the road against the traditional top-four sides in their last five attempts.

However, Chelsea have dropped just two points at home this season and will be out to grab three points after their disappointing midweek draw with Hull City at the KC Stadium.

The Blues have the Premier League's most impressive defensive record this term with 11 clean sheets in 24 outings, but they will bid for a 12th against top scorers Arsenal, who have netted 60 goals in the same number of
games.

Chelsea team
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti could welcome back John Obi Mikel from international duty with Nigeria at the African Cup of Nations.
Chelsea have already benefited from Didier Drogba's return to the side in midweek following Ivory Coast's early exit from the competition, and Mikel could now make the squad against the Gunners.

However, the game will come too soon for Michael Essien, who missed Ghana's run to the final after suffering a knee injury early in the tournament, and he may not return until next month.

Full-back Jose Bosingwa is also expected to miss the game as he recovers from a knee injury while Juliano Belletti is a doubt with the same problem.
Ashley Cole was a late substitute at the KC Stadium, and he could reclaim his starting place at left-back to face his old club at the expense of Yuri Zhirkov.

Besides the aforementioned injured, Ancelotti has a full squad to choose from and scandal-hit centre-half John Terry will captain the side despite his very public personal issues.

Arsenal team
Brazilian striker Eduardo Da Silva is set to miss out once again after sitting out the defeat to Manchester United with the hamstring problem he picked up against Aston Villa.

That means Nicklas Bendtner is in contention for a start after becoming available to Wenger from the bench in recent fixtures, with Robin van Persie a long-term absentee.

Midfielder Abou Diaby could return from the calf problem that has kept him sidelined since mid-January as the Gunners attempt to nudge their title challenge back on track.

At the back, Johan Djourou is nearing a return but Stamford Bridge may not be Wenger's first-choice destination at which to hand him a return.
Kieran Gibbs, meanwhile, is still struggling to overcome problems with his foot after breaking a metatarsal bone earlier in the season.

Possible starting XI's

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, A. Cole, Terry, Carvalho, Lampard, Ballack, Malouda, J. Cole, Drogba, Anelka.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Song, Fabregas, Denilson, Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin.