2 hours ago
34
Chelsea travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon as the Blues look to keep pace in the Champions League race and dent Arsenal's Premier League title hopes
Chelsea make the short trip to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon with the Blues going to the home of the Premier League leaders for the second time in less than a month.
When the two London rivals locked horns at the start of February, it was the Gunners who came out on top. Kai Havertz's late strike proved to be the only goal of the game to ensure the north Londoners progressed into the Carabao Cup final.
Liam Rosenior's only two defeats as Chelsea head coach both came against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final. Rosenior will be hoping it's third time lucky when he goes head-to-head with Mikel Arteta yet again on Sunday, as Chelsea look to keep ground with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United in the race for a Champions League spot.
FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
By the time Chelsea kick off at the Emirates, the Reds could be three points clear and United may well be six adrift. Rosenior is not focused too much on the bigger picture, and is instead putting all of his attention on finding a way to come out on top against the title-chasing Gunners.
With all of this being said, our Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes discuss what they would do if they were in Rosenior's shoes.
Bobby Vincent
I would be looking to do something a bit different than we have seen recently. Reece James should go in midfield to add some physicality at the Emirates, and that would mean Malo Gusto switching over to right-back and Jorrel Hato on the left side.
Andrey Santos can count himself unfortunate in this particular scenario because he has done nothing wrong, really, to be dropped. James has been exceptional in midfield when called upon and it might be something Arteta does not expect.
Wesley Fofana is suspended, so I would bring Mamadou Sarr in for the Frenchman. This would be Sarr's first Premier League start but he is someone Rosenior knows very well from their time working together at Strasbourg.
As for the attack, I would keep it the same from the side that drew with Burnley last weekend. Even though that was far from the perfect performance in front of goal against the Clarets, I'm not sure I would make any changes whatsoever.
Bobby's XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Sarr, Chalobah, Hato; James, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro
Jake Stokes
I don't expect Rosenior to make too many changes to the starting line-up that faced Burnley last weekend, nor do I expect him to deploy a back-five like he did against Arsenal in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final earlier this month. On Sunday, I reckon the Chelsea boss will want to prove a point and throw the kitchen sink at Arteta's side.
Rosenior has to make at least one change to his backline, with Fofana currently serving a one-match ban. It would be great to see Sarr start alongside Chalobah, but I would understand the method behind the madness if he went for Benoit Badiashile.
I would not, however, understand the logic if Tosin Adarabioyo starts. Age does not equal experience, and experience does not equal quality. Rosenior could also draft Hato in for Gusto, whose complacency arguably cost Chelsea last weekend when he performed a no-look cross at just 1-0 up.
The remainder of the starting line-up will probably stay the same, with Estevao Willian still nursing an injury. It'll be interesting to see how Cole Palmer gets on, having only played Arsenal a handful of times in his career. The Gunners are there for the taking, but Chelsea just need to make sure they don't do anything silly...
Jake's XI: Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Sarr, Hato; Caicedo, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
English (US) ·