Arsenal vs Chelsea

Arsenal’s pursuit of their first Premier League title in two decades continues at the Emirates Stadium this midweek as they take on Chelsea in an all-London showdown.

Mikel Arteta’s men recovered from back-to-back blows last weekend, securing a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton to reclaim the top spot due to Manchester City’s FA Cup commitments. However, a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in their last home league outing threw a spanner in the works, taking the title control out of Arsenal’s hands ahead of the final five rounds. Anything other than three points against a Chelsea side they’ve lost to only once in their last eight H2Hs (W5, D2) would probably end the Gunners’ lofty ambitions. But they can draw confidence from their imperious midweek form, having lost just one of their 18 Tuesday-held Premier League home matches (W11, D7) since 2005, a run which includes a 3-1 victory against the Blues in this corresponding fixture last term.

In the meantime, Chelsea’s last chance to avoid another trophyless season went begging at the weekend as Man City eked out a 1-0 win in their FA Cup semi-final tie. As a result, the only way for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to ensure European qualification is to whittle down a three-point gap on sixth-placed Newcastle United. With a game in hand, it’s a distinct possibility, not least because they’ve strung together their longest unbeaten streak in the Premier League since March 2021, going unbeaten in their last eight league matches (W4, D4). On the downside, the Blues have yet to taste success against the current top-four sides this season (D2, L4), while they’ve lost four of their last five away league matches held on a Tuesday (D1).