Chelsea v Arsenal team news & stats

Mark Holmes
Chelsea and Arsenal: Prepare to do battle this weekend

Chelsea and Arsenal: Prepare to do battle this weekend

Chelsea are unbeaten against Arsenal in seven Premier League games going into Saturday lunchtime’s latest encounter at Stamford Bridge.

Team news

Chelsea will be without the injured Willian and Pedro, but Radamel Falcao could be fit to return to the squad. Oscar made his comeback from a knee injury in the 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League in midweek.

Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, will make a last-minute decision on whether to include Per Mertesacker in his team after the defender returned to training following a virus. The Gunners have no new injury concerns and will include Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin in their squad after the pair were rested against Dinamo Zagreb.

Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is at 12.45pm.

Opta stats

  • Chelsea are unbeaten against Arsenal in their last seven Premier League encounters (W4 D3).
  • The Gunners have failed to score in their last four Premier League matches against the Blues and have managed just two goals in their last seven league games against them.
  • Arsene Wenger secured his first win over Jose Mourinho in the Community Shield on his 14th attempt in all competitions (D6 L7).
  • Eden Hazard has scored in the Blues’ last two PL clashes with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, with both goals coming in the first half from the penalty spot.
  • Jose Mourinho has never lost successive league home games as a manager – he lost his last home league game against Crystal Palace (1-2).
  • The Gunners have won seven and lost none of their last eight Premier League away matches.
  • Arsenal have fired in the most shots on target in the Premier League (39), while Chelsea have allowed their opponents the most in the top flight (38).
  • Theo Walcott has scored 11 goals in his last 11 Premier League starts for Arsenal.
  • Only David James (169) has kept more clean sheets than Petr Cech (165) in Premier League history and the Czech has not been beaten in his last three league outings.

Predictions

Join our TEAMtalk v Fans league on SportLobster to make your prediction for this game and the other nine in the Premier League this weekend.