Prediction & odds for the game: Arsenal (15/8) v Chelsea (13/10)
When: Sunday, 29th December 2019 @ 2pm K.O
Where: Emirates Stadium
The London rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea will be heating up once again this weekend as the two clash at the Emirates.
Arsenal
The introduction of Mikel Arteta as the club’s new manager has received mixed reviews, to say the least, but we still believe he needs to be given at least a year in order to implement his style at the Emirates – unless, of course, it all tragically falls apart within a matter of months. This is the sort of game that will really test him and his methods, and it’ll also showcase whether or not Arsenal are ready to make their home ground a fortress once again.
The 3-1 win over West Ham United seems like a distant memory at this stage as disappointment continues to follow Arsenal around like a bad smell. They’ve suffered defeats to Manchester City and Brighton in addition to questionable draws against Bournemouth, Everton and Standard Liege.
Chelsea
Pretending to understand this Chelsea side is impossible because they continue to surprise us – both for better and worse. The Blues are one of the most intriguing clubs to watch from a quality standpoint, but beyond that, they just can’t seem to maintain the sort of consistency they need to run away with a spot in the top four like they should be. Frank Lampard has a lot of work to do, but thankfully for him, the board seems more than willing to give him the time he needs.
Win, loss, win, loss, you shake it all about. Chelsea won a narrow encounter against Aston Villa, only to drop a shocker to Everton. They beat Lille 2-1 in the Champions League to secure their place in the last 16 before slippping up against Bournemouth. Then, they put in a fantastic performance to beat Tottenham only to lose 2-0 to Southampton just four days later. Football is an odd game.
Conclusion
We can’t imagine this is going to be quite as lively or even entertaining as it has been in recent years, with Chelsea attempting to pick their spot and Arsenal trying to create something on the counter. We can see the visitors taking the lead and attempting to sit on it before Arsenal slowly but surely build forward before grabbing an equaliser. The two will share the spoils which, in many ways, will be viewed as two points dropped in the race for fourth.
We think it’ll go under the 2.5 goal marker, but we still feel as if it’s going to be an entertaining game – as it almost always is between these two clubs. If anything, this could be determined by who is the better finisher on the day between Abraham and Aubameyang.
Verdict: Back the draw at odds of 11/4 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 6/4. (All odds are taken from bet365).
[geosnippet id=3620]The mouthwatering Arsenal v Chelsea encounter is available at the betting page, with other games hanging around on the soccer predictions page.
