Enzo Maresca’s young Chelsea side seek to throw another spanner in the works for Mikel Arteta as they prepare to take on Arsenal in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
By Alex Roberts
Arsenal are winless in their last three league games and risk falling further behind Liverpool and Man City in the race for the title, sitting in sixth, level on points with Chelsea after ten games.
As for Chelsea, a drab draw with Man United in game week ten could have been a lot worse given the circumstances, but Maresca will no doubt still feel disappointed they were unable to make the most of some favourable results around them.
Life without Cole Palmer
Chelsea have been lucky; they’ve rarely had to think about a game without talismanic forward Cole Palmer. That might be about to change after he picked up a knock in their draw with Man United.
Palmer has played almost every Premier League minute for Chelsea so far this season, his only respite coming after being substituted in their 3-0 win over West Ham having scored their third goal.
Maresca’s side have a wealth of talent, summer signing João Félix is their second-choice number ten. He’s a similar type of player to Palmer, but without his end product, Chelsea will be worried if Palmer is not fit to start at the Bridge.
Martin Ødegaard’s timely return
The Arsenal captain has been out of action since early September after picking up a serious ankle injury in Norway’s 2-1 UEFA Nations League victory over Austria but is set to return to the fold.
In desperate need of his creativity, Arteta’s side have the second-worst Premier League scoring record amongst the traditional ‘top six’ with 17 goals, eight more than struggling Manchester United.
Ødegaard’s return will restore balance to Arsenal midfield. His close control and innate ability to pick out a pass with no doubt give the likes of Moisés Caicedo lots to think about.
Moisés Caicedo starting to justify his price tag
A successful £100 million+ player is rare, especially at Chelsea, however, after an underwhelming start to life at the club last season, Caicedo is starting to buck the trend.
His volley against Man United got all the headlines, but his overall performance was as good as we’ve seen from him in a Chelsea shirt. Ending the game having won eight ground duels, made four recoveries, and four passes into the final third.
Partnered alongside Romeo Lavia, he has given the club a totally different dynamic to their midfield, adding more physicality while still maintaining a creative outlet, he’s managed to provide two assists too.
The Ecuadorian may be the N’golo Kanté replacement Chelsea thought they were signing all along.
Prediction
It’s hard to look beyond Arsenal for this one. Arteta has a ridiculous record at Stamford Bridge, winning three and drawing one of his previous four Premier League games at the ground.
Not only does he have a history, he has a cause. Determined to turn their faltering title challenge around, expect Arteta to pull out all the stops to secure victory.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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