Arsenal vs Chelsea - Preview, prediction, team news and lineups

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FanSided World Football

·15 Maret 2025

Arsenal vs Chelsea - Preview, prediction, team news and lineups

Arsenal are unbeaten in six Premier League meetings with Chelsea, their longest such streak for two decades, seeking a third successive home win over their rivals for the first time since 1994.

Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview

Can Arsenal get back to winning ways in the Premier League? Last Sunday, the Gunners were held to an underwhelming 1-1 draw by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Declan Rice lashed home an equaliser 15 minutes from time, but they were rather indebted to David Raya for the point they earned. As a result, Mikel Arteta's team are now without a win in three league games, also drawing at Nottingham Forest, having been beaten by West Ham during their most-recent home league game. This means Arsenal kick off 15 points below Liverpool, the title race all but mathematically over.

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As a result, Arsenal are simply seek to retain second spot, needing to pick up wins to achieve this, given that five teams are nine points or fewer behind. The Gunners do also still have the Champions League to fight for too, reaching the quarter-finals this week. On Wednesday night, 7-1 up from the first leg in Eindhoven, Arteta's team were annoyed not to beat PSV at home; Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice on target in an inconsequential 2-2 draw. They will now face record 15-times winners Real Madrid in the last eight, the first leg coming up on 8 April. Before then, the stakes may have been significantly lowered in the league, but Gooners worldwide are all desperate for a London derby win.

As for Chelsea, victory here would see them move to within three points of their hosts, massively enhancing their hopes of a Champions League return. Enzo Maresca's team had won only two of their last ten in the Premier League, but back-to-back home wins over the bottom two have calmed things down, first smashing Southampton 4-0, before Marc Cucurella was the only scorer against Leicester last Sunday. On the road however, the Blues have lost each of their last three league fixtures, winless in six overall, still fourth despite this alarming form, but battling to remain there.

Meantime, on Thursday night, the Blues booked their place in the Conference League quarter-finals; Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall the only scorer at Stamford Bridge, as they ousted København 3-1 on aggregate. Chelsea will now face Legia Warszawa in the last eight, very much expected to reach the final in Wrocław, considering they'll then meet either Djurgården or Rapid Wien in the semis. Now, can Maresca's side claim their first away league win since victory at Spurs a whopping 98 days ago?

Arsenal vs Chelsea Head-to-Head Record

Matches Played: 210.

Arsenal Wins: 84. Draws: 60. Chelsea Wins: 66.

Arsenal Team News

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain sidelined, while Raheem Sterling is ineligible to face his parent club, following a man of the match performance on Wednesday. In better news, bolstering their depleted forward-line, Gabriel Martinelli has come off the bench during the last two matches, after a month on the sidelines, set to start this time.

This could curtail the Mikel Merino a centre-forward experiment, that certainly yielded mixed results, with either Martinelli or Leandro Trossard deployed through the middle. Elsewhere, Benjamin White started against PSV, doing so for the first time since the 1-1 draw at Chelsea in November, having required knee surgery.

Nevertheless, he's likely to be back on the bench for this one, with Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Thomas Parety, Martin Ødegaard and Ethan Nwaneri all returning to the lineup. Lastly, Arteta has a decision to make at left-back; fresh from his first-ever senior England call-up, will Myles Lewis-Skelly keep his place, or will it be Riccardo Calafiori who get's the nod?

Arsenal predicted lineup vs Chelsea: (4-2-3-1): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Partey, Ødegaard; Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli.

Arsenal Player to Watch vs Chelsea

Martin Ødegaard has only five goals to his name this season, most-recent bagging a brace in Eindhoven, albeit he has racked up two goals and four assists against Chelsea to date.

Chelsea Team News

Enzo Maresca travels without Malo Gusto, Roméo Lavia, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Guiu and the banned Mykhailo Mudryk, but he certainly has some decisions to make. After Filip Jörgensen started in the Conference League on Thursday, Maresca confirmed that Robert Sánchez will be donning the gloves this time, as he continues to chop-and-change his goalkeepers.

Meantime, in the absence of a natural centre-forward, Pedro Neto will continue as an auxiliary striker, while Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer will all return to the XI, having been required off the bench against København.

In defence, Wesley Fofana, who's not in the UEFA squad, started against his former side Leicester last Sunday, this his first appearance since 1 December due to a hamstring injury. Who Maresca chooses to deploy alongside him is anyone's guess; Levi Colwill, Benoît Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah are the options. Lastly, Moisés Caicedo would sit out their next two fixtures, games against Tottenham and Brentford, if booked.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Arsenal: (4-3-3): Sánchez; Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernández, Caicedo, Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku; Neto.

Chelsea Player to Watch vs Arsenal

Cole Palmer missed a penalty for the very first time in his senior career last weekend, meaning he's now without a goal or an assists in ten appearances across all competitions, so can he change that fact here?

Arsenal vs Chelsea Prediction

This London derby is tough to call, but we are, just about, backing Arsenal to win this one, with the Gunners making home advantage count against the inconsistent Blues: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.