It’s been a long old wait for the English Premier League to be back in our lives but after last weekend, our prayers have been answered after 10 thrilling games went down with all 20 clubs being back in action. On Sunday, things will continue to heat up with a full house at the Emirates welcomes back Arsenal to take on London rivals Chelsea.
The Gunners came into the new campaign off the back of some real pessimism and in the opening game of the entire season, they kept that momentum going with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Brentford. Of course, some may choose to suggest it was little more than a blip, but those who watched would’ve realised it meant a whole lot more than that.
Chelsea, who are the reigning European champions, had a slightly different approach as they came out swinging against Crystal Palace. They pinned the Eagles back from the word go and came away with a nice 3-0 win to prove why they’re looked upon as legitimate title contenders between now and May.
The home advantage isn’t expected to mean a whole lot for this Arsenal side with Chelsea being listed as the bookies’ favourites at 3/4 with William Hill. Their dominant attacking prowess, coupled up with a strong defensive structure, means that it’s not exactly surprising to see the Blues being favoured so heavily against their rivals.
At 15/4 with Betfair it’s hard, we imagine, for Arsenal supporters to face the harsh truth that is this – they just aren’t built for being top four contenders right now. They are heavy underdogs and even though they’ve got a few impact players that can make some noise, their best bet is going to be that Chelsea decide to opt for complacency over efficiency.
With respect to who is going to be the first goalscorer, it’s easy enough to see why Romelu Lukaku is priced at 11/4 with Betfred to score on his second debut for Chelsea. The Belgian is somewhat known for scoring in his first appearance for a new team and while he has a deep history at Stamford Bridge, we somehow think this run has the potential to be the highlight of his entire career thus far.
This game will come at the end of the Premier League weekend so if nothing else, they’ll get a chance to weigh themselves up against some of their rivals – although Chelsea may be the only ones this is relevant to.
Alas, football is a funny game and the Premier League is an exceptionally funny division, which is why we’re predicting a draw in this fixture. That’s obviously going to come as a shock, but we think Arsenal should be better equipped to deal with a free-flowing team like Chelsea in comparison to a side like Brentford who just wanted to bully them off of the ball.
Thomas Tuchel’s men are going to be on cloud nine but tomorrow afternoon, we expect them to be brought back down to Earth courtesy of a gutsy showing from the hosts in front of a lively crowd.