Arsenal vs Chelsea Betting – Premier League Sunday

Emirates Stadium
Sunday, November 27
Kick Off 4pm

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated derby matches of the season, as the Premier League sees Arsenal vs. Chelsea topping their weekend bill. Arsenal are playing catch up to Chelsea, and the Gunners currently sit in third place, 8 points behind the leaders. A defeat at home to the title favourites, would put them a massive 11 points behind them after just 14 matches of the new season, and that in itself will be a total which will be hard to overcome for Arsene Wenger’s men. Arsenal suffered a surprise defeat at home in the Premier League last weekend, falling 1-0 to visitors Sunderland. They regained some composure to see of Standard Liege in the Champions League in midweek, and that will have eased Wenger’s mind.

Both sides have players on the injured list, as to be expected around this time of the year. The main problem for Arsenal is in left back position, where Gael Clichy is missing still through and injury, and cover, and touted future England star Kieren Gibbs will also miss the game after fracturing a metatarsal in the Champions League victory. There is also concern over William Gallas, but the defender is likely to face up to his old club. Arsene Wenger will also be without star striker Robin Van Perise, as the Dutchman will be out for several weeks. For Chelsea, there may be a sooner than expected return to action for Frank Lampard, after he had to pull out of the recent England friendly against Brazil with a torn muscle. He could make the starting eleven if he comes through a late fitness test, and fellow midfielders Deco and Michael Ballack both returned from respective injuries during Chelsea’s midweek win over FC Porto.

The two London sides are the Premier League’s top scorers, with Arsenal topping the chart with three more goals scored than the Blues. However, Chelsea have the tightest defence in the league, and have a good sequence of clean sheets going. That is exactly what boss Carlo Ancelotti is building his success upon, and from that confidence comes the ability to go forward and score goals, something which Chelsea have been doing for fun lately. Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka gets the chance to put one over on his old club, and is becoming an icon of dependability for Chelsea. It was Anelka who got the solitary goal in the victory over Porto which confirmed Chelsea as winners of their Champions League group. The Frenchman has been carrying the weight of the Chelsea attack, especially when Didier Drogba has been missing. Whatever the personal, Chelsea seem to keep going from strength to strength. Droga will likely be starting after returning to action against Porto.

Arsenal however, will need to ensure that they find a way to be sharp in front of goal without Van Persie. He is a key player for them, and they do not quite have anyone who brings the same composure in linking up with the midfield. The 1-0 loss against Sunderland saw the Gunners firing blanks for the first time in 21 matches, and the game just illustrated the importance of Van Persie to Arsenal. They will need to be resourceful and find ways to try and break down the strong Chelsea defence. At this stage of the season last year, Arsenal beat Chelsea, and it was the road to ruin for short-lived boss Big Phil Scholari at the helm at Stamford Bridge. But now the Blues have the calm and collected Carlo Ancelotti, no stranger to success. Chelsea are five points ahead of Manchester United, and they will expect it to be at least the same come Sunday evening.

Betting Stats:
Last Five Premier League Head-to-Head
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 4
Chelsea 1, Arsenal 2
Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 0
Arsenal 1, Chelsea 1
Arsenal 0, Chelsea 2
Arsenal 2, Chelsea 2

Last 10 Matches
Chelsea W8, D0, L2
Arsenal W6, D1, L3

Win Percentage
Arsenal 100% Home record (5 from 5)
Chelsea 66.7% win success away from home (4 out of 6)

Last 8 Premier League Games Goals:
Arsenal 23 Goals For, 7 Goals Against
Chelsea 21 Goals For, 5 Goals Against (current 4 game clean sheet streak)

On a normal run of things, it would stand to reason to expect plenty of goals in this game. The confidence is visibly growing in Chelsea, both in attack and in defence. The physical presence of Drogba alone should cause the Arsenal centre halves problem, and Chelsea have a wealth of experience and class in the middle of the park to tear teams apart, something they have been showing of late. Arsenal are not adept at keeping clean sheets, and that means Chelsea should be able to find the back of the net without too much difficulty. Arsenal will need to be at the sharp passing, creative best, with the likes of Andriy Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas running the show. How much of a look in they will get against the likes of Lampard, Ballack, Deco and Essien though, could be the big difference between the two sides. Chelsea have the all round game, Arsenal can look brilliant on their day, and can be out muscled.

Arsenal to win: 9/5 at BetFred
Draw: 12/5 at Boylesports
Chelsea to win: 7/4 at Totesport

Betting Advice: Chelsea are rightly favourites, but there isn’t a lot to chose from between this two free scoring teams. The visitors will be at full strength, whereas the Gunners won’t be. A draw wouldn’t be too bad for the Blues, whereas it would mean Arsenal would likely lose further ground to those around them in the league. For great value, head on over to Ladbrokes, for a Quatro…
Chelsea to win or draw with 3 or more goals scored in the match: 21/10 at Ladbrokes

Anytime Scorer:
Dider Drogba – If he plays, he would be worth taking as anytime scorer (2/1 at Coral). Why? In eight matches against the Gunners, he has netted 8 times.
Nicolas Anelka has 7 goals in 9 match against his former club Arsenal too (2/1 at SkyBet) .

Clean Sheet
Chelsea to keep a clean sheet – 5/2 at Paddy Power
Chelsea to win with a clean sheet – 10/3 at Boylesports