London, Monday 27 December.
Monday night football closes the week on a high as Chelsea face off against their title contenders in Arsenal at the Emirates. While both teams look to bounce back into winning ways after their less than satisfactory performances in the previous week, they
will have one eye on the league leaders, hoping not to lose more ground in the title race.
While this season Arsene Wenger’s youngsters are getting looking more dangerous than ever before, their inefficiencies against the traditional top four and the new challengers have been subject to much debate. Apart from thrashing the Citizens at the City
of Manchester Stadium, Arsenal have shown their inability to swing crunch ties in their favour. Whether it’s the new recruits still not properly working, or the youngsters needing more lessons, the Gunners will be well aware this tie against Chelsea can have
a heavy impact on their title ambitions.
Chelsea have been subject to the Blues in recent times, failing to win any of their last five matches. After a slightly better performance against Tottenham last week though, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be looking to build up momentum heading into the tough
end-of-year period. Moreover, Didier Drogba has been terrorising the Arsenal defences over the years, and the likes of Koscielny and Squillaci should be anticipating a rugged night out.
Probable line-ups:
Chelsea’s talisman Frank Lampard is expected to mark his return to the starting line up after various muscular injuries have blighted his season. Jose Bosingwa is another name off the injury list, though defenders Alex and Zhirkov and summer recruit Benayoun
remain out.
Hot prospect Szczesny should expect another nod from his manager after a solid performance against Manchester United, deputising for the injured Almunia. Defenders Kieran Gibbs and Thomas Vermaelen are both out with foot-related injuries.
Players to watch out for:
Recently named French Player of the Year and Arsenal’s leading goal scorer Samir Nasri has blossomed this season for the Gunners. While Captain Cesc Fabregas has recently slammed his own teammates for being unable to gain control in big games, Nasri is one
of the game-changing players the Arsenal squad can look up to.
His attacking prowess through the middle and down both flanks, his brilliant footballing brain, and his delivery off set pieces automatically make him one of the leaders on the pitch for Arsenal.
For the away team, all eyes will be on star striker Didier Drogba to lead from the front. Apart from his crucial penalty miss, the powerful hitman looked very lively and will be looking to hit top form once again on Monday night. With seven league goals
to his name this term, we can be assured that Drogba will be battling his heart out, especially as the Chelsea squad is almost back to full strength with the return of Lampard.
Prediction:
With both teams raring to go at full steam, this match will be one full of vigour and oomph. As has often been the case though, such games are decided with one moment of genius or one regrettable incidence of concentration lapse. Monday night may well turn
out to be one of those nights.
The draw against Spurs saw lively play from Chelsea, and manager Ancelotti felt his team had progressed beyond their recent slump. With Arsenal’s average home form, not the most dependable back three, along with Lampard’s return to the team, we predict Chelsea
to nick the match 2-1.
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