Chelsea vs Arsenal 30/05/19

30 May 2019

For the first time in the Europa League history, two Premier League sides will face-off against each other in the final, as Chelsea take on Arsenal at the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaijan.

The Blues are the only unbeaten team in the Europa League this term (W11, D3), but they’ve broken into the EL final after a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Eintracht Frankfurt, as the two played out two 1-1 draws in their semi-final tie. Additionally, the Pensioners have racked up a seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions in the build-up to this clash (W2, D5), with four of those games featuring under 2.5 goals. Notably, though, Maurizio Sarri’s men have produced more shots on target than any other team in the EL this term (229), as they boast the best attacking record in European second-tier competition (32). Interestingly, all three European finals Chelsea have featured in the past 20 years have seen both teams score, with two of them ending with the same 1-1 scoreline.

Meanwhile, the Gunners have a chance to wrap up first major European silverware in the 21st century, as they will feature in the second European final since a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League final back in the 2005-06 campaign. Even though they’ve suffered two losses in the EL knockout stage, Unai Emery’s players have won all five of their previous EL outings, scoring 13 goals while conceding only three in the process. Notably, the North Londoners have kept nine clean sheets in 14 EL fixtures this term, conceding over 1.5 match goals only once. Interestingly, all eight of Arsenal’s knockout stage games have seen at least one goal in the first half, with six of them featuring a minimum of one goal inside the opening 30 minutes.