Arsenal v Chelsea Tips: Gunners’ title hopes hang by a thread as they face bleak Blues
By Joe Crann
Arsenal v Chelsea Odds28 April 2023
Wednesday’s match between Man City and Arsenal was billed as a title decider, so the nature of City’s victory suggests Arsenal are now outsiders to lift the trophy in four weeks.
Mikel Arteta’s men may still top the Premier League as they head into a London derby against Chelsea, but the title race is now very much out of their hands as the Cityzens close the gap with every passing game.
Under normal circumstances a game against the Blues would be considered a likely banana skin, but Frank Lampard’s side is in relegation form right now and there may not be a better time to play them.
Chelsea in trouble
The recent form guide doesn’t look great for Arsenal after a run of three draws and a defeat saw them lose their grip on the title, but compared to their next opponents’ run it’s practically glowing.
With six defeats in a row in all competitions and no win since early March, it’s no surprise to see why Chelsea are priced at 5 for an away victory against the league leaders.
Lampard has a winning strike-rate of just 13% this season in the Premier League, but there is a glimmer of hope that they can get a goal in this encounter (1.48 for no Arsenal clean sheet).
Unbreachable Arsenal?
Arsenal’s home form has been excellent this season - they have only lost two games at the Emirates in 90 minutes across all competitions - but their defence is certainly not unbreachable as proven by just two home clean sheets since the start of the year.
They are difficult to beat, but seemingly not too difficult to score against. You can back the visitors to score over 0.5 goals if you think the hosts will be susceptible again.
Recent trends
The men in red have had Chelsea’s number in recent meetings with five wins from their last six encounters, including a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge back in November.
Both sides have key players out of action - William Saliba most notably for the hosts – but it’s Chelsea who are the most depleted. Marc Cucurella is the latest addition to their injury list, which also includes the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James.
Recent form would suggest that Gabriel Jesus (2.58), Bukayo Sara (2.98) and Gabriel Martinelli (3.15) are most likely to find the back of the net, while Conor Gallagher is the only Chelsea player to have struck gold in the last seven matches.