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This weekend we have a game between two HUGE London rivals who are battling it out for the Top 4 as Arsenal host Chelsea in a must win scenario!
Arsenal are currently 5th in the league with 41 points and are tied with Manchester United while being 6 points behind 4th placed Chelsea.
In the recent weeks the Gunners have fallen off tremendously since going 22 games unbeaten they’ve been dropping a lot of points and fallen out of the Top 4.
The main reason why Arsenal have fell off so bad is because their away form has been slacking as they’ve picked up just 2 pts in their last 5 away games. At the Emirates they’ve been able to produce at a high rate as they’ve been unbeaten in the league at Home since the opening day which helps their case here against Chelsea since they’re at home.
Another reason for Arsenal’s struggles has been their defensive problems. Well that has been the case for a few years now, but this season especially they just cannot seem to keep Clean Sheets as they have only kept 1 in last 15 league games.
Despite their defensive struggles, Arsenal are still a very dangerous side due to their superb attacking play as they have one of the best attacking records in the league and have only failed to score in only ONE game this season .
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is clearly the danger man to watch from Arsenal as he’s the tied top scorer in the league with 14 goals and has a very good record at home in terms of goalscoring. His partner Alexander Lacazette up front is another man to watch out (7G 5A this season).
Chelsea are currently 4th with 47 points, just one point behind Spurs.
Chelsea have shown some up and down form in recent weeks but have been a bit more consistent than Arsenal which allowed them to spread the gap to 6 points.
Chelsea are one of the best teams playing away from home this season with the 3rd best away record in the League. They’ve won each of their past 3 away games against touch Brighton, Palace and Watford sides.
Chelsea’s biggest problem this season has been the ability to put away chances as their strikers have struggled and wingers like Hazard and Pedro have to be relied on to score goals. However, Chelsea’s defence has improved tremendously and they’ve relied on it to win games in recent weeks as they’ve have the tied 2nd best defensive record in the league.
The danger man from Chelsea of course is Eden Hazard who is the only player to have 10 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League. Pedro would be another player to watch as he’s quietly been scoring goals this season (7 this season).
The first meeting between these clubs was won by Chelsea this season as they defeated Arsenal 3-2 in a game where strangely Arsenal were the ones failing to convert chances and Chelsea being the ones who took their chances. It was an end to end thriller from which the Blues came away as the winners.
Arsenal have been able to get the upper hand over Chelsea at the Emirates most recently winning 2 and drawing 1 of the past 3 meetings between these clubs in Arsenal’s home.
Bookies have Chelsea as slight favourites coming into this game at 2.37 to win. Arsenal to win is 3.10 and a draw is 3.50. Given Arsenal’s home form that might come off as a little surprising to some.
Team News
Arsenal: Holding, Mkhitaryan and Welbeck all remain out. However, Mesut Ozil could return to the side after being left out last week.
Chelsea: Loftus-Cheek is the only absentee for the Blues. Everyone else is available including Morata who is linked to move away from Chelsea.
Betting Stats
Arsenal have actually got a higher total goals under percentage than overs at Home this season at 54.5% of their home games having an under (6-5).
Arsenal have the tied best total goal Under percentage at Half Time at 72.7% at Home this season (8-3).
Arsenal have only led at Half Time 2 times in their 22 games in the Premier League this season.
Aubameyang has the most of Arsenal’s goals at the Emirates this season with 8. In general he’s tied for the most home goals in the BPL with Aguero this season.
7 of 11 Arsenal’s games at the Emirates have had BTTS – Yes in the League this season.
Arsenal average 2 Bookings per game at Home in the league this season (22 bookings in 11 games).
Arsenal are 2nd best at covering Handicaps in the BPL at Home this season at 63.6% (7-1-3).
Chelsea are THE best in the league at covering total goal overs away from home at 80% (8-2).
However, Chelsea are just 10th in covered total goal overs by Half Time away from home this season in the league at 40% (4-2-4). Their away games tend to have more goals in the 2nd halves.
Eden Hazard has the most Chelsea goals scored away from home this season with 5 away goals in the league.
Chelsea average 1.5 bookings per game away from home in the league this season (15 bookings in 10 games).
Chelsea are 10th best in the league at covering Handicaps away from home at 50% (5-2-3).
KICK OFF – 19th January 2019 – 5:30pm UK Time
