A fierce rivalry has developed between Arsenal and Chelsea over the past 15 years and hostilities will intensify this month as the teams play each other three times. First up the Gunners host Chelsea in a Premiership match on Wednesday evening, followed by a two-legged league cup semi-final. The first game will set the tone for the cup tie and both teams will be desperate to avoid defeat. Arsenal have fallen behind in the race for fourth place and need to get points on the board as Liverpool and Tottenham are on fire. Chelsea are battling Man Utd for the second spot, and may harbour ambitious hopes of overhauling runaway league leaders Man City before the season is out. Both teams will be well up for a battle and it should prove to be a thrilling encounter.
Arsenal’s form has been patchy of late, but they can take comfort from their strong recent results against Chelsea. The Blues were heavy favourites in May’s cup final after winning the Premiership title at a canter, but Arsenal took them apart under the Wembley sun. It finished 2-1 to the Gunners, but the margin should have been greater. They then pipped Chelsea to the Community Shield at the start of the current campaign and earned a 0-0 Premiership draw away at Stamford Bridge earlier this season. Arsenal won this fixture 3-0 last season, although Chelsea gained revenge with a thumping win at the Bridge en route to winning the title. There are plenty of reasons for Arsenal fans to be optimistic though, and many will be tempted by the odds on offer.
Most bookmakers have Arsenal as the underdogs, despite having home advantage. The Gunners have won eight of their 10 home games this season, leaving them with the third-best home record in the league, so they are pretty formidable at the Emirates. They are 19/10 with Bet Victor, 10Bet and 188Bet to win this one and 97/50 with Marathon Bet, while many Green Listed Bookmakers are offering 15/8. That is a tempting price on a team with such a strong home record. The Gunners have struggled against the big teams of late, but Chelsea seems an exception to that rule.
The Blues are also well priced to win this one, however, with Unibet, Black Type and Betfair all offering 8/5. William Hill, Bet Victor and various others have 6/4 on the Blues to claim an away win, and they certainly come into the game in better form. Antonio Conte’s men have not conceded a goal in their last three games and beat Stoke 5-0 last time out. That came despite resting star attacker Eden Hazard, and he will be fit and raring to go alongside the likes of Alvaro Morata and Pedro at The Emirates on Wednesday. Arsenal’s backline has been shaky of late and Hazard and co will relish the opportunity to run at it.
Both teams possess a vast array of attacking brilliance, with Alexis Sanchez, Alexandre Lacazette and possibly Mesut Ozil lining up opposite Hazard, Morata and Pedro. Both teams have been suspect in midfield and Arsenal have been leaky at the back, so the best option might be backing both teams to score. The Gunners have not failed to score in a home game yet this season but will be likely to concede against a strong Chelsea attack, so both teams to score looks interesting at 8/13 with Sun Bets. To get more value, both teams to score and over 2.5 goals is evens with green-listed bookmakers, Sky Bet and 10/11 with Coral. Morata looks good in the anytime goalscorer market at 3/2 with Sky Bet as he is in superb form and will give Arsenal’s wobbly defence a real headache.
Going forward, it is hard to call the Carabao Cup semi-final. Chelsea do not need extra distractions as they have a crucial Champions League tie against Barcelona looming, while Arsene Wenger has never taken this competition seriously. Both managers are likely to rest players, and it could come down to who has the stronger squad. Conte has frequently bemoaned the lack of depth at his disposal this season,
which could play into Arsenal’s hands. They are likely to field players like Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, and that may be enough to see off Chelsea’s B Team, so Arsenal to qualify at 139/100 with Marathon Bet might be a good option.
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