Arsenal make the trip to Stamford Bridge for Tuesday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea. The Gunners are currently 10 points behind the Blues, who are occupying the fourth spot and they need a victory in order to keep their Champions League aspirations alive through the league.
That won’t be an easy task, given they have not been able to beat the Blues at the Bridge since 2011 while their record against the big six is not great with the last away triumph coming at Manchester City more than five years ago.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Lineup:
Bernd Leno has been solid between the sticks this season but he made a huge blunder which contributed to the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates last month. He will be keen to make amends on Tuesday where he is expected to start in goal.
In the defence, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka should continue to feature on the right and left side of the backline. The former has impressed with his defensive awarness for most of the time under Arteta and he will surely get the nod over Hector Bellerin, who has not tasted any first-team action since returning from a hamstring concern.
In the central defensive department, David Luiz is a definite starter and he should be accompanied by Sokratis, provided he has recovered from the illness which kept him out of action against Sheffield United last weekend. Sokratis is still being assessed but the Gunners fans will be hoping that he makes the lineup ahead of Shkodran Mustafi, who is bound to make the occasional error.
At the heart of the midfield, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira are definite choices and they should be accompanied by Mesut Ozil, who should feature in the advanced number 10 role. In the attack, it should remain the same from the previous weekend with Reiss Nelson out injured while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is suspended for another two games.
Gabriel Martinelli, who scored the club’s only goal against Sheffield, should slot into the left-wing spot. Nicolas Pepe will definitely feature on the opposite flank while Alexandre Lacazette is expected to lead the line. The former Lyon man definitely needs to find his scoring boots after failing to score in seven straight games for the side.
Predicted Arsenal lineup (4-2-3-1): Bernd Leno, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, David Luiz, Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Ozil, Gabriel Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette
How Arsenal could line up against Chelsea FC
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