Kick-Off : 16:00 GMT
Refree : Michael Oliver
Stadium : The Emirates
Barclays Action is back as the weekend is up now, Jose Morinho's side will make their visit to The Emirates as battle at the table top continues.The title is not yet decided as it looks that there can be twists, b'coz it has been long now that England have seen a straight title, so the spectators will hope a tight English Club Title.
Let's take the scenario into consideration first. Arsene Wenger side are the closest competitor of The Stamford Bridge Side for The Title.John Terry's side is still ten points ahead with six games left. A draw would leave Arsenal 10 points behind Chelsea with five games to play.So, probably Jose Morinho will look for a draw.
Games against Chelsea always tend to have a clear narrative, whether it be Wenger v Mourinho, the Didier Drogba issue or - as now - the return of Cesc Fabregas to Emirates Stadium.
There will be a period of silence before kick-off on Sunday to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Valley Parade fire.
ARSENAL
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker will miss the fixture with ankle problems.Brazilian Defender Gabriel Paulista is all ready to feature in top fixture now.Ospina will be handling the ball between the posts as he looks to return to starting XI after Resting out on FA Semi-Finals. Captain Mikel Arteta (ankle) and midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (groin) are still not match fit.Jack Wilshere and Debuchy are both back to the selection squad now.
Wenger describes the chance of Per playing as 50-50 and comments on other players.
"The South Americans are ready to come into English football now and they adapt very well.Sometimes they have gone through another country, like Gabriel has played at Villarreal and that certainly quickens the adaptation in England. They already know what is expected from them.” - Arsene Wenger
Former Real Madrid star who featured under Jose tags the clash against Chelsea as "Something Special".Özil feels that despite getting the title is tough, the side will continue it's spectacular run entertaining the fans.
“We are in a great shape and want to extend our run with a victory on Sunday.Even if we only have a theoretical chance of winning the Premier League, the meeting of the two teams with the most points of the league is something special." Özil told SID.
Arsenal Defensive Midfielder Coquelin is ready to try himself against the likes of Hazard and Fabregas.
"Liverpool have Philippe Coutinho and now it’s going to be different opposition with Eden Hazard. He is probably one of the best players in the league, maybe even the best this season. It’s going to be a tough game but like in every big game you want to win.Hazard and Cesc Fabregas are great players who can do such great things at any time in the day. You need to be focused the whole time and that’s what I’m trying to do for the 90 minutes." Coquelin told Arsenal Player.
CHELSEA
It looks like The Blues Boss Jose will decide it late weather to risk injury concern Diego Coasta or not. Jose's side is hard to play against but injury concerns in the final half of the side are too many and may cause for the side.
Spain striker Coasta remains under doubt The Spanish forward has been having recurring hamstring problems over the course of the season, and was earlier thought to have suffered a more severe injury, with the manager ruling him out until May and Striker Loic Remy (calf) is definitely out, so Dominic Solanke could come on to the substitutes' bench if Costa fails to make it.
Branislav Ivanoviv has been consistent for The Blues this season making 42 appearance this season while missing just six.Lets look what he had to say :
‘When you look at each game, one by one, you will see I have missed some in the cups, but yes, it’s still a lot.As a squad we have great guys who can play every game; those possibilities are very important. We have been doing well all season so we haven’t had to try to change things too much.It’s been a very long season. When you look at the first couple of games we played in the league it feels like it was two years ago! So it’s been very tough for us but we’re coming to the end now and we must stay focused.We have six games to go and psychologically our first aim is to win the title as soon as possible, but we don’t need to rush. We have to study every game, we have to handle every game and we hope to win it as soon as possible.’
Ahead of the away travel to Emirates Gary Cahill talks with Chelsea TV about the pressure situation while facing Arsenal and maintaining the characters :
‘We’ve worked so hard to get into the position we’re in now and we know if we win these next two matches we’ll be champions.In a way, the pressure is still on us because we have to keep winning in order to get over the line. We’ve been saying that for the last few weeks and, thankfully, in the last few weeks we’ve managed to do that.We’re in a great position as we go into Arsenal away, which is always a massive game, always a big test and always a great atmosphere. If we come through Sunday’s game we’ll be in an even stronger position but it’s a hard place to go and get three points.If you ask every player in the squad they will tell you they enjoy playing in big games. Last week it was Chelsea v Manchester United, a massive fixture, and now it’s Arsenal v Chelsea, another huge match. Thankfully, since I’ve been at the club we’ve managed to do well against them, which is obviously a positive.They’re in good form but so are we, we’re getting results week in, week out at the moment so it will be two good teams going up against each other.’
MATCH FACTS :
Olivier Giroud has scored 10 goals in his last 12 matches in all competitions.
Arsene Wenger has lost just five competitive home games by a three-plus goal margin during his tenure as Arsenal manager; three of which have come against Chelsea.
Didier Drogba has scored eight times in 11 Premier League appearances against Arsenal in his career. Against no team has he scored more in the division (also scored eight vs WBA).
Jose Mourinho has never lost as an opposition coach against Arsene Wenger in any competition (W7 D5 L0).
EXPECTED LINE UP :
Arsenal
Ospina
Bellerin
Gabriel
Koscielny
Monreal
Coquelin
Cazorla
Ramsey
Ozil
Sanchez
Giroud
Chelsea
Courtois
Terry
Cahill
Ivanovic
Azpilicueta
Matic
Ramires
Hazard
Fabregas
Cuadrado
Drogba
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