Arsenal vs Chelsea – Match Preview – An iconic Premier League fixture, London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea meet for the first of their three clashes in January with both sides harbouring ambitions of securing Champions League football.
Wednesday’s game comes a week before the first of two EFL Cup semi-finals, the 1st leg being played at Stamford Bridge.
Whilst there have been strong showings in the cups this year (with both sides progressing into the knockout stages of their respective competitions comfortably), the Premier League title seems like a foregone conclusion due to Manchester City’s domination, so the chasing pack must hunt to finish as close to the top as possible, in the aims of obtaining a top four finish.
Sanchez has been in great form in the past few matches for the Gunners Photo Credit: skysports.com
After drawing 1-1 with West Brom on Sunday (in controversial circumstances) and following Liverpool’s dramatic late victory over Burnley, Arsenal, in 5th, find themselves six points off The Reds in the Champions League places.
North-London rivals Tottenham Hotspur are just a point behind (at the time of writing) too, with a game in hand on The Gunners and they play bottom club Swansea City on Tuesday night. Arsene Wenger’s side are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions but have drawn four of their last seven Premier League games so picking up three points is vital here to maintain the pressure.
Doing so will be difficult against the in-form Champions, Chelsea have won 13 of their last 18 matches in all competitions including two convincing victories over the festive week against Brighton and Stoke. Manchester United’s simultaneous draws briefly saw The Blues move into 2nd place but after United’s 2-0 win at Everton on Monday night only victory here can see Antonio Conte’s side reclaim that spot.
Hazard and Morata can give Chelsea a big win in the London Derby Photo Credit: skysports.com
Clashes between these two English giants are always intense, as there is a feeling Antonio Conte wants to exact revenge for The Gunners winning the 2017 FA Cup Final and denying him a League and Cup double in his maiden season in England.
Controversy is never far from these matches and the reverse fixture this season brought a heated 0-0 draw that saw David Luiz given a straight red card for a rash challenge on Sead Kolasinac.
Surely, we will see goals this time around but drama and excitement is all but guaranteed when two of the country’s best do battle, normally to prove who the top dog in the capital really is.
Stats
Arsenal have conceded six goals in their last three games and the underlying sentiment that they are vulnerable if a team truly gets at them never seems to fade away. Saying that, only four teams can say they have kept more clean sheets than the Gunners’ nine this season.
Chelsea are one of those teams, in fact no side in the Premier League has had more shutouts than Chelsea’s 11 this term.
Whilst both will be keen to keep it tight defensively for the fear of losing, the attacking quality on the pitch should provide ample scoring opportunities for the likes of Morata or Lacazette to thrive upon and find the net.
Whilst Chelsea have been awarded a league-low total of 22 yellow cards this year, only Watford can boast (or not) a worse disciplinary record in terms of red cards, as three Blues players have been given their marching orders – one in the reverse fixture for David Luiz as mentioned above. This gives Chelsea 14 average booking points per game.
Arsenal, despite not receiving a single red card this year, fare slightly worse, with 31 yellow cards giving them 14.8 average booking points per match.
Taking into account the context of this match and the way emotions usually get flared, expect there to be a considerable amount of work for the referee to do and a lot of cards being brandished as a result of that.
Suggested Tips
- Skybet Price Boost – Alexandre Lacazette and Alvaro Morata both to score in 90 mins – 7/1Skybet Price Boost – Granit Xhaka and Cesc Fabregas both to be carded – 11/2
- Skybet RequestAbet Up to 10/1 – BTTS, 4+ corners each team and 20+ booking points each team – 9/2
- Skybet RequestAbet 11/1 to 28/1 – Hazard to score, Chelsea to win and Morata & Mustafi to be carded – 25/1
- Skybet OPTA Player Total Multiple Shots – Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard 3+ shots each – 5/2
- Skybet Player Carded Accumulator – Jack Wilshere and Antonio Rudiger both to be carded – 17/2
- Bet365 – Anytime Goalscorer – Marcos Alonso – (link no longer available)
- Bet365 – Half Time/Full Time – Chelsea/Draw – (link no longer available)
- Bet365 – Correct Score – Draw 2-2 – (link no longer available)
Bristol City vs Wolves – Match Preview – The Championships top two teams clash as Wolves look to create a massive 11-point lead at the summit of the Championship going into the new year.
Undoubtedly the game of the week; if this match is anything like the reverse fixture we are in for an absolute treat – it finished 3-3 at Molineux in September in what was a rollercoaster of a game.
Wolves have unquestionably been the division’s outstanding team this year, they have recruited beyond the means of what was beforehand deemed possible and under Nuno Esprito Santo, look like a team destined for the Premier League.
After 24 games having 55 points and only losing three times is quite remarkable in a league as consistently unpredictable as The Championship and the eight-point gap they have over both their opponents in this fixture and then Cardiff in 3rd shows no signs of depleting. An undefeated streak of ten games including eight victories is testament to that.
Jamie Paterson has been in fine form for Bristol City this season Photo Credit: bcfc.co.uk
However, Bristol City are too riding the crest of a wave; not only are they the league’s surprise package this campaign but they are fresh from knocking Manchester United out of the EFL Cup and earning a semi-final birth against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
The atmosphere around Ashton Gate is electric at present and rightfully so, manager Lee Johnson is daring to dream and there has not been a better time to be a Bristol City fan in recent memory.
Whilst many thought The Robins would struggle to maintain their stellar early-season form they have kicked on again, winning five of their last six league matches to stride into the automatic promotion places.
Bonatini leads Wolves scoring chart with 12 goals so far this season Photo Credit: skysports.com
A wonderful clash between the two best sides in the league promises so much, and is so important for both sides. An 11-point gap is a very large safety net for Wolves, or for City winning and narrowing the bridge to just five points would make everyone stand up and acknowledge that they are serious contenders.
Stats
The fact Wolves have both the league’s most potent attack, with 45 goals, and the meanest defence, by conceding just 19, goes to show the lengths of which they have been dominant this term. Naturally then they lead our club clean sheets stats table with 13, whilst Bristol City are much further afield with seven. It would be risky to rule The Robins out though, as they have the league’s second-best attack and have scored two or more goals in over half of their games – 13 in fact, which is tied with Wolves as the most in the league.
Bristol City currently rank in joint-seventh in our club card stats table for average cards awarded per game (1.9). The Robins have had 43 yellow cards brandished to them this term – only five sides have received more. Comparatively, Wolves have been given 37 whilst both have had one player receive their marching orders so far this season.
Despite Wolves’ dominance, surprisingly they rank 20th in our club corner stats table for corners awarded, so if form is anything to go by banking on Bristol City to add to their 127 corners is the most likely. That puts The Robins 6th in the corner stats table, having earned 21 more than their opponents.
Suggested Tips
- Skybet Both Players to Score – Jamie Paterson and Leo Bonatini – 13/2
- Skybet Total Goals, Corners Taken & Booking Pts – Over 1.5 Goals, Over 8.5 Corners, Over 25 Booking Points – 6/4
- Skybet To Score and Win – Ivan Cavaleiro – 7/2
- Skybet Match Result – Draw – 12/5
