Arsenal have not conceded a competitive goal this season, while Chelsea have already scored seven and conceded five in the Premier League, so something has to give at the Emirates on Sunday.
The champions followed a comfortable 3-0 opening-day win over Coventry with a much tougher 1-0 victory at Aston Villa, where Bukayo Saka’s goal was enough to maintain their perfect start. Mikel Arteta’s side have now won seven consecutive Premier League games and kept six straight home clean sheets.
Chelsea have taken a rather more entertaining route to six points. Xabi Alonso began his Premier League career with a 3-2 win at Fulham before Chelsea raced into a 3-0 lead against Brighton and eventually survived a remarkable 4-3 game at Stamford Bridge.
Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro give Chelsea enough pace and quality to present Arsenal with a completely different attacking test to anything they have faced so far. The problem is at the other end, where the Blues have now gone 18 Premier League games without a clean sheet.
Arsenal also have recent history firmly on their side. They have won their last five home games against Chelsea, while the Blues have not beaten Arsenal in any competition since 2021.
The biggest question is whether Chelsea’s attacking improvement is enough to overcome an Arsenal side that rarely gives much away at the Emirates. Another home win looks the most likely outcome, but Alonso’s front line makes a third consecutive league clean sheet considerably harder to trust.
Arsenal to win and both teams to score
Arsenal are odds-on favourites for the straight win, which makes combining the home victory with both teams scoring a more appealing route into the game.
Chelsea’s defensive numbers provide most of the argument for backing Arsenal. Alonso’s side conceded twice at Fulham and three times at home to Brighton, while Arsenal have already scored four league goals without needing to produce their best attacking football.
Chelsea are considerably more dangerous going forward. Seven goals from two matches is enough evidence to believe they can trouble an Arsenal defence missing William Saliba, particularly if Cristhian Mosquera fails to recover from the problem that forced him off at Villa Park.
Sports Mole’s statistical model puts both teams to score at a little over 61%, with a 2-1 Arsenal victory the single most likely winning scoreline for the hosts.
Bukayo Saka to score or assist
Saka has scored in each of Arsenal’s opening two Premier League games and was once again their biggest attacking threat at Villa Park.
Chelsea’s defensive record makes him difficult to ignore, particularly with Arsenal likely to spend much more time around the visitors’ penalty area than Brighton did while still scoring three times at Stamford Bridge.
The score-or-assist market gives us some protection against another game where the England winger creates the decisive moment rather than finishing it himself.
BACK SAKA AND PALMER TO HAVE A SHOT ON TARGET – BOOSTED TO 2/1
Arsenal vs Chelsea kicks off at 4:30 PM BST on Sunday, September 6 at the Emirates Stadium.
The game will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with subscribers also able to stream the match through Sky Go.
Mikel Arteta:
“Game state is a massive one, especially because the two games that they played, they scored very, very early.”
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Xabi Alonso:
“But to have different tools, to have different ideas how to do it, and to have different approaches, is good.”
(4-2-3-1) Raya – White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori – Lewis-Skelly, Rice – Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis – Havertz.
Injured: William Saliba, Jurrien Timber.
Doubts: Cristhian Mosquera, Bruno Guimaraes.
Rice returned to training after being forced off at Villa, while Mosquera’s fitness remains a concern and could open the door for Ezri Konsa to make his first Arsenal start.
(3-4-2-1) Martinez – Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill – James, Gusto, Lavia, Hato – Palmer, Rogers – Joao Pedro.
Injured: Jordan Henderson, Marco Palestra.
Doubt: Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo remains the major decision after lasting only 13 minutes on his return against Brighton, with Alonso confirming that Chelsea will make a final call on his availability after Saturday’s assessment.
Score prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
Chelsea look far too dangerous to dismiss despite Arsenal’s clean-sheet start, but their defensive problems are much harder to overlook against the champions. Arsenal’s recent dominance of this fixture and greater control without the ball can make the difference in a game where both sides should finally find a way through.
Keep up with our latest Arsenal betting tips, predictions and match previews and Chelsea betting tips throughout the Premier League season.
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