Arsenal will visit Chelsea on Sunday afternoon in a Premier League first versus second clash at Stamford Bridge
Arsenal should expect Chelsea to unleash their quicker players in attack when the Blues host Mikel Arteta’s side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. But the current runaway league leaders should still have enough to secure a comfortable away win.
That’s the view of former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton, who has committed his match prediction to publication ahead of this weekend’s headline encounter.
The Gunners head into the match riding high, with six wins in their last seven matches. But Enzo Maresca’s team is also in great form, having won five of their last six run-outs to move up to second in the table. Both teams also enjoyed impressive victories in the Champions League in mid-week.
The end result is a first vs second match-up that is sure to whet the appetite of the club’s fans and neutrals alike. But BBC pundit Sutton believes that Arteta’s title-chasing team will simply be too good for their hosts.
Writing in his weekly online prediction column, Sutton said: “This is a big one – second versus first – and it is not the time to sit on the fence.
“I was right that Arsenal would wipe the floor with Tottenham – I went 3-0 and it was 4-1 – but I didn’t get any extra prediction points for being so brave, and so close.
“I like what Enzo Maresca is doing at Chelsea and he is another manager who sticks to his principles in the way his team play.
“Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in a row now too, so they are looking pretty solid at the back, but I still think Arsenal will be too powerful for them.
“Mikel Arteta’s side showed how good they are when they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday. They have shown they can beat any team in any way – out-muscle them, out-fight them or out-play them – and they will be ready for Chelsea.
“Maresca might go with some pace up top again like he did against Barcelona’s high line, but Arsenal will have too much nous for them and I actually think they will win pretty comfortably.
“Chelsea have made a really good start to the season but I don’t see them, or anyone else, pushing Arsenal close in the title race.”
Sutton has predicted that Arsenal will win the match 2-0. If his prediction comes to pass, then the Gunners can further extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to at least seven points.
However, their advantage could be trimmed to three points if Maresca’s side can defy the forecast and pull off a home win and with Brazilian starlet Estevao leading the charge in Chelsea’s 3-0 Champions League win over Barcelona alongside Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho, Arteta will be wary of the threat that his team must estinguish to keep their title tilt on track.
