Chelsea vs Arsenal prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-10-20 16:30.
While they still loiter around the middle of the Premier League (PL) standings, there were signs going into the international break that Chelsea were finally starting to find their feet under manager Mauricio Pochettino as they pieced together three successive competitive wins. The most recent, a 4-1 success at Burnley, saw the Blues score 4+ goals for the first time in 71 outings across all competitions. It was also the first time they’d come from behind to win a PL away game since October 2022.
Chelsea might need more of that fighting spirit here as they’ve often allowed London rivals Arsenal to get the upper hand in these H2H contests, with the Gunners scoring first in five of the last six meetings. Three of those matches ended in home defeats for Chelsea and a fourth here would make Arsenal the first side to secure four straight victories at Stamford Bridge since Watford achieved the feat in 1986.
The visitors look to have silenced any doubters who didn’t believe they could sustain another title challenge this season after making an impressive unbeaten start to the new campaign (W6, D2). The standout result in that run was the 1-0 success over champions Manchester City before the international break, which was a win that gleeful manager Mikel Arteta branded as “special”.
Back on the road and with confidence sky high, Arsenal are chasing history here as they bid to add a fourth PL away clean sheet to the three they’ve already accumulated so far this season (W3). The North London club have never opened a league campaign with four straight away clean sheets, although they went close to doing so in 1995/96, also achieving a streak of three, but a 1-0 defeat by none other than Chelsea stopped them in their tracks.
Players to watch: One of Chelsea’s scorers at Burnley, Raheem Sterling has failed to score in four personal league H2Hs against Arsenal, having netted in four successive PL matches against the Gunners prior to that. Ex-Chelsea player Kai Havertz scored four of his final five goals for his former club at Stamford Bridge.
Hot stat: Chelsea’s Pochettino has never lost a home PL H2H against Arsenal (W3, D3).