Chelsea vs Arsenal 19/08/18

19 August 2018

After taking part in the first major Premier League derby this season, Arsenal will participate in another difficult match, as they look to face off against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge. The Blues have opened the campaign with a convincing 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town on the road, with the new signing, Jorginho, made an instant impact finding the back of the net in his first official match in the blue jersey, as they hope to maintain the same form against the city rivals. Although Mauricio Sarri’s team failed to impress in the off-season, the former Napoli coach will try to bring Chelsea back to the Champions League football after a nightmarish last season’s campaign under Antonio Conte. On the other hand, Unai Emery, who replaced Arsene Wenger on the Arsenal’s bench has miserably failed in his opening Premier League match, suffering a 2-0 defeat to mixed Manchester City’s team in front of the home supporters, and another potential loss might make things difficult for the former PSG boss. The Gunners haveshined at the International Champions Cup, achieving two wins, over PSG and Chelsea in particular, but the atmosphere will be pretty different in the Premier League encounter.

Mateo Kovacic, who arrived from Real Madrid on loan, might make his debut for the home team after skipping the match against the Terriers. As for the visitors, Laurent Koscielny and Sead Kolasinac are sidelined with injuries, while the appearance of Maitland-Niles still hangs in the balance, after the youngster left the field against the Citizens in the 35th minute due to some physical problems.