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Chelsea is set to host Arsenal in a London Derby that might have huge implications for one of the teams involved. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our Premier League odds series, which includes our Chelsea-Arsenal prediction and pick we have laid out below.
Both teams are entering this match somewhat reeling. Chelsea had a good run of results broken by a shock defeat at home to Bretford, where they lost 4-1. After that, they lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League and despite winning 3-2 in Madrid, they got knocked out of the competition. Now, they only have the Premier League to play this season. Arsenal is in a dire fight with Tottenham Hotspur for the last Champions League spot, but three defeats in a row, including falling to Brighton at home, are not going to help. They really need to win this game to stay in the fight.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Chelsea-Arsenal Premier League odds:
Premier League Odds: Chelsea-Arsenal Odds
Chelsea: (-115)
Arsenal: (+320)
Draw: (+260)
Over: 2.5 (+106)
Under: 2.5 (-128)
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Why Chelsea Could Win This Match
The Blues are still the defending European championships, but this has been a season to forget. Chelsea is completely out of the title fight, trailing the league leaders Manchester City by 12 points. While they were competitive for most of the season, a poor spell in December and January cost them a spot in the title fight. Altogether, from the 4th of December until the 23rd of January, Chelsea played nine games but only recorded two wins. They are doing much better now, with six wins in their last seven.
In terms of omissions and available players, Chelsea should have everyone but Callum Hodson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell ready to play. The availability of players has been solid this season, as most players have been able to stay week-in, week-out. Coach Thomas Tuchel has a system in place with three players at the back and he will likely set up the same in this game as well. The tactical familiarity of this Chelsea squad is one of the key reasons why they are still a good team, despite some European setbacks they had in the prior week.
Chelsea has more talent than Arsenal, that is without a doubt. Kai Havertz is having a great season and Mason Mount should have a ton of confidence, especially after scoring at the Bernabeu mid-week. Chelsea has a great chance of winning this game.
Why Arsenal Could Win This Match
This Arsenal season has been streaky. The Gunners started off with a losing streak, dropping three in a row. Their next loss came almost four months later but was followed by two more in the next three games. That has been the story of this season for Arsenal and now, they are in another poor streak of games. They dropped three in a row and they are entering this game with an imperative to win. They need the win for the confidence, but also to remain in the fight for the top four.
Manager Mikel Arteta is fortunate enough to have most of his players available, but his tactical approach has been questioned in the past few weeks. There were some experiments, such as putting Granit Xhaka at left-back, but to his credit, Arteta was able to get results for a large part of the season. Thus, he should be trusted with his team selection, come Wednesday night.
Arsenal has a huge imperative to win, as mentioned above. They did not capitalize on Tottenham dropping points versus Brighton at home because they lost to Southampton away from their Emirates, but they have a new chance now. With a tough set of games in a row, Arsenal should use the fact that the Chelsea players must be reeling after a grueling period that included an overtime game versus Real Madrid and hammer home this win.
Final Chelsea-Arsenal Prediction & Pick
Just like any derby in the world, the London Derby is really tough to predict. However, based on the fact that Chelsea is out of Europe and is sitting comfortably in third place, it is Arsenal that needs this win more. It might look surprising, especially after the Saints taking all the points on Saturday versus the Gunners, but we are backing Arsenal to win in their match versus Chelsea.
Final Chelsea-Arsenal Pick: Arsenal: (+320)