Arsenal vs Chelsea: Premier League team news and prediction

Arsenal have a fairly solid home record against Chelsea and they'll need to pick up all the spoils to ease the pressure on head coach Mikel Arteta. A 3-1 win in this game last season kickstarted a seven-game unbeaten run for the Gunners and with the tough fixtures coming thick and fast, an early scalp against title contenders Chelsea will do wonders for their confidence. 

Ahead of this clash, we provide all the necessary pre-match information, including what time the game kicks off, where to watch this clash, team news and probable XIs...  

When is kick off?      

Sunday 22nd August, 16:30 GMT      

Where is the match?      

Emirates Stadium, London 

What TV channel is it on?      

Sky Sports Premier League / Sky Sports Main Event  

Gameweek One Recap 

A trip to Premier League debutants Brentford was never going to be a walk in the park for Arsenal as they laboured to a 2-0 loss in west London last week. The Gunners did look dangerous going forward, mustering 22 shots in total, although just four of those were on target, and they were made to pay for their profligacy as goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard compounded Mikel Arteta's side to defeat. 

Chelsea had their own London derby to contend with and made light work of Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. Marcos Alonso fired the Blues ahead midway through the first half before Christian Pulisic added his first and Chelsea's second five minutes before the break. Trevoh Chalobah marked a dream debut with a goal as Thomas Tuchel oversaw a 3-0 win over the Eagles to get their title push off to a winning start. 

Team News 

Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and Runar Alex Runarsson all miss out after testing positive for COVID-19. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sat out the loss at Brentford for the same reason, but he has since returned a negative test and could feature. Martin Odegaard has joined permanently from Real Madrid, however the welcome of Chelsea comes too soon for the Norwegian as he awaits a visa. Thomas Partey, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel are all sidelined for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta may revert to a three-man defence to combat Chelsea with Rob Holding featuring in defence. 

For Chelsea, Hakim Ziyech is sidelined with a shoulder injury, while Thomas Tuchel is hoping to have N'Golo Kante fit to make his first start of the season after he sat out the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed the victory after testing positive for COVID-19 and he is unlikely to be available here. However, the big news for Chelsea is the possible second debut of Romelu Lukaku, who returned to Stamford Bridge from Inter last week. Christian Pulisic, who netted against Crystal Palace last week, has returned a positive COVID-19 test and is absent. 

Probable XIs 

Arsenal (343) - Leno; White, Holding, Mari; Cedric, Lokonga, Xhaka, Tierney; Saka, Pepe, Smith Rowe

Chelsea (3421) - Mendy; Chalobah, Christensen, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Havertz, Mount; Lukaku

Key Battle: Granit Xhaka vs N'Golo Kante

Heavily linked with a move to Roma earlier in the summer, Granit Xhaka penned a new deal with Arsenal earlier this month to mark a turnaround in fortunes at the Emirates. An experienced head in the midfield, Xhaka has previously saved some of his best performances for welcomes of Chelsea, so supporters are hoping for a repeat when the Blues make the trip across the capital.

Chelsea made light work of Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon and all without the services of N'Golo Kante. The Frenchman has forged a superb partnership alongside Jorginho in the Blues midfield and his battling displays will be key against the Gunners this weekend. Kante's worst rated performance in a Chelsea shirt did come against Arsenal back in January 2020, so if he does start, he'll be looking to avoid a repeat of that showing.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea