Both Chelsea and Arsenal come into this game not knowing which European front they will be competing in next season.The task is simple for Arsenal, win their games, and they will finish third, and qualify for the Champions League. Finish fourth, and they will qualify, providing that Chelsea do not win this seasons competition.
Simple? Thought not. Especially as Tottenham and Newcastle are in the equation. Those are the two teams directly above them, and Chelsea know a win can put them a point ahead of both, heaping a bit of pressure on them ahead of the later kick offs.
They will have to foresee that task without Wednesdays hero Didier Drogba, who is sidelined with a knee injury, meaning Fernando Torres will likely start. The hosts have problems of their own, Benayoun is ineligible against his contracted club, and the influencial Mikel Arteta sits out the rest of the campaign with an ankle injury.
Arsenal do have Koscielny, Diaby and Coquelin back, and have also had an extra two days to prepare for this game, after Mondays defeat to Wigan.
In the last 19 meetings between the pair, Chelsea have lost just four, but include the last two, including an astonishing game at the Bridge in October where Van Persie hit a treble. However, Chelsea are not one to concede away goals, they have the third best in the division, with only the two Manchester teams conceding less.
Arsenal have won 8 out of their last 10 in the league, but the two losses have come in the last four games, including the one on Monday. Chelsea will look on that game as the positive, and hope to frustrate the Emirates crowd early on.
In truth, the game will be impossible to predict, though both sides will be desperate for a win, I think that 13/5 is great value for the draw.
Looking at goalscorers, Juan Mata is a great 3/1 to score at any time, and Lampard is 12/5, while John Terry and Alex Song are both 7/1 to score at any time.
My chosen bets for the weekend are as followed, on Bet365:
Draw @ 13/2 – 5 points
Draw HT/Chelsea FT @14/1 – 2 points
Over 2.5 goals @ 4/5 – 10 points
Terry FGS @ 25/1 – 1 point
Prediction – Arsenal 2 – 2 Chelsea (12/1)
By Brad Smith
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