Premier League Update: Van Persie, Fabregas, Bosingwa, Lampard are back as Chelsea take on Arsenal tonight
Arsenal will be looking to break a jinx tonight as they welcome Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium in what is a top of the table six pointer.
After Manchester United and Manchester City both registered convincing wins over Sunderland and Newcastle United, the two London teams find themselves five and six points adrift of Manchester United.
Arsenal are currently third in the table five points adrift while Chelsea lie one place and one point below them at fourth but all could change tonight if either side can claim a victory but a draw will undoubtedly suit Manchester United.
Both the managers have said prior to the match that a win is absolutely vital for them as any more dropped points at this stage of the season can cost either team dearly.
Arsene Wenger has seen his side being beaten by the top two in the league on 14 of the last 18 occasions and he will be looking to get the better of this record tonight but he will have to be vary of one man who has scored 13 goals in his
last 13 appearances against Arsenal and is fit to take his place in the Chelsea starting line up, Didier Drogba.
History appears to be on Chelsea's side tonight as they have won the last five matches between them and Arsenal with the most recent win coming in October at Stamford Bridge where Branislav Ivanovic fired a torpedo of a free kick to make
the points secure after Drogba had opened the scoring.
Whichever stat you look at, Chelsea look to be ominous favourites for the game tonight but football is not played on paper and on the pitch, Arsenal have got the talent and skill to beat any side on their day.
And the fact that Arsenal have not defeated Chelsea at the Emirates in their last three visits may just act as a catalyst for the young Gunners.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have not won a single one of their last six fixtures and Arsene Wenger’s troops can take heart from the fact that the Blues are not visiting their den in the best of forms.
If you consider recent forms of both the teams Arsenal certainly boast a better record as they have won 4 out of their last 7 games while Chelsea have only secured six points from last 7 outings which include just one win.
Last time out, Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Spurs and the performance was described by Ancelotti as good while Arsenal lost to Manchester United 1-0 in their last league game.
The main problem for Arsenal this year has been their central defensive pairing of Koscielny and Squillaci, who have so far failed to form a formidable partnership and have been leaking goals but at the same time, Arsenal will be buoyed by
the fact that two of their most influential players in Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie have returned from injuries and will be available for selection tonight.
The pair came on a second half sub in the game against Manchester United but have been training with the team since then and will be looking for a place in the starting line-up.
For Chelsea, Jose Bosingwa is back after spending two weeks on the treatment table and so is Frank Lampard but missing out tonight will be Alex, Zhirkov and Benayoun.
The match is going to be a feisty encounter as both teams will be chasing a win as both the managers know that a draw will suit their rivals and so both will be trying to go all out for the win.
Tags: