Arsenal v Chelsea Preview

Arsenal v Chelsea

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Emirates Stadium

Kickoff: 4:00 PM local time (11 AM Eastern)

Arsenal

Arsenal defeated Portsmouth 3-0 in its last league match, the Gunners' second straight win and 21st successive league match without a loss.

In its last five matches, Arsenal has won four and drawn one, gaining 13 of 15 possible points. Arsenal is currently fourth in the league, six points behind third-place opponents Chelsea and 10 points ahead of fifth-place Aston Villa.

Defender Gael Clichy will miss the rest of the season with a back injury, while Eduardo will likely do the same with a groin injury.

Chelsea

Chelsea beat Fulham 3-1 at home in its last league match, the Blues' second straight win and fourth win in five matches.

In its last five, Chelsea has won four and drawn one, also earning 13 of 15 points. The Blues are currently in third place, three points behind second-place Liverpool.

Chelsea currently has no new injury concerns, but still are without Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Paulo Ferreira, and Joe Cole.

Prediction

Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners earlier this season at Stamford Bridge, and last season's Arsenal vs. Chelsea match at the Emirates ended in a 1-0 Gunners win.

Although at first glance it would appear that there is nothing left to play for in the Premier League for either club, there is still a potentially important battle left—the top three teams at the end of the season will automatically qualify for the group stage of next season's Champions League, while fourth place will have to play in the qualification stages first.

Due to its unseeded format next season, this could potentially pit England's fourth-best team against the fourth-best squad from Spain or Italy. A win for Arsenal would reduce the gap to three with two matches still to play.

After both teams suffered demoralizing Champions League semi-final defeats Tuesday and Wednesday nights, it will be interesting to see how they bounce back for this encounter. Chelsea undoubtedly has been hit harder by its controversial loss than Arsenal, and so the after-effect may well carry over into this encounter.

Arsenal holds the upper hand in recent meetings at the Emirates Stadium, winning three, drawing two, and losing one of the last six seasons' encounters.

This home advantage may well give Arsenal the edge in what should be a very closely fought match, but the psychological effect from the midweek results may also factor in and produce an extremely interesting display of football.

Read the complete preview with the best betting odds at the Arsenal vs Chelsea preview page now!

Then read more weekend previews including West Ham vs Liverpool, Rangers vs Celtic, and Man Utd vs Man City at the Sports Betting Review site!