Chelsea & Arsenal match manifestos for beating each other

With Chelsea and Arsenal set to meet in the Premier League, for what is usually one of the games of the season in the Premier League, Coral take a look at what each side needs to do to beat each other and how they can best expose their opponents. We start with the home team…

Chelsea
Following their fantastic 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Champions League, the Blues will be hoping that they can now start to climb up the Premier League table after a somewhat dismal start to the campaign. Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa rediscovered the fine form they were in last season and Chelsea can use this to good effect against the Gunners, whose defence has yet to be seriously tested this season, despite a relatively poor start.

Jose Mourinho is generally the master when it comes to big matches and his Chelsea sides do well against Arsenal having won their last three home matches against Arsene Wenger’s side. The Blues recorded a 2-0 victory last season, with Costa putting the game beyond doubt and he will be key if the hosts are going to get three points.

At 5/4 to net anytime, he can bully the Gunners rearguard for 90 minutes and with Arsenal likely to try and dominate possession, Mourinho should think about switching styles and playing on the counter-attack, maximising the pace of Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez.

Arsenal
It will be interesting to see who Wenger decides to play as the lone frontman, with Olivier Giroud getting sent off in the Gunners’ shock 2-1 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.

The Blues have played with a high backline so far this season, with John Terry left exposed on a number of occasions and Wenger needs to realise that he has to go with pace if his side are going to come away from Stamford Bridge with three points, which they are 2/1 to do.

This may just see the Frenchman go with the troublesome Alexis Sanchez as the lone frontman. As well as pace, the Chilean is more powerful and possesses slightly more guile than Theo Walcott, who might be better used on the right, terrorising Cesar Azpilicueta who has looked below-par this term so far.

Sanchez also bagged a brace against Blues goalkeeper Asmir Begovic last season as Arsenal beat Stoke City 3-0, so odds of 2/1 for him to net anytime are considered great value.

Mesut Ozil pulled the strings brilliantly in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over the Potters last time out, sending over a sublime pass for Walcott’s goal and he is likely to be restored behind the frontman.

He will be the key for Arsenal and if he can pick out any runs Sanchez makes, Chelsea could be in trouble, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who dispatched the winner in the Community Shield against the Blues would make up a fast front three and should be given license to run riot over Branislav Ivanovic who has also been less than impressive this term.