Arsenal vs Chelsea preview

Sunday January 24, 2016 16:00pm – Emirates Stadium

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Arsenal: DDWWL

Chelsea: DDWDD

Arsenal can consolidate their place at the top of the Barclays Premier League with a win at the Emirates on Sunday, where they face a Chelsea side who are still dangerously close to the drop zone.

Gunners still top of the pile

A run of two draws has not prevented Arsenal from retaining top spot in the Premier league. However, it is only goal difference that is keeping them ahead of surprise package Leicester City.

The Londoners are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and have only been defeated once on home soil all term. That loss came on the opening day of the season back in August against West Ham United.

Last time out, Wenger’s team were held 0-0 away to Stoke and prior to that, they played out an entertaining 3-3 draw against Liverpool at Anfield. Overall, they have lost just twice in the last 16 league matches including seven of the last eight at the Emirates.

The home side could be boosted by the return of Alexis Sanchez, while Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and Danny Welbeck are all still unavailable.

Chelsea not out of trouble yet

As unthinkable as it may seem, Chelsea are still a factor in the relegation equation. Having drawn four of their last five games under Guus Hiddink, the Blues have failed to pull clear of the drop zone and remain in 14th place, just four points clear of the bottom-three.

The Blues have upped their goal count in the last few weeks but are struggling to keep the opposition out at the other end. The one exception being their last away outing in which they strolled to a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. That result marked their first away win since they edged past West Brom at the end of August last year.

Radamel Falcao is once again unavailable, while Diego Costa and Eden Hazard both passed late fitness test and could feature.

Prediction

Arsenal are undefeated in their last nine league games at home, and should be able to see off the challenge of a fragile Chelsea side that has lost 50% of their away games this season.

The home win offers the best value at 11/10 with Bet365

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