Will Chelsea deploy Petr Cech on the halfway circle? Will Theo Walcott recover from his ingrown arm in time for Sunday? Find out as the How Will They Line Up boys discuss the London Derby!
Former Arsenal forward Paul Mariner gives his take on how fans should receive former Gunner Cesc Fabregas when Chelsea face off against Arsenal on Sunday.
With the title race all but wrapped up, former Arsenal striker Paul Mariner talks the mindset of the Gunners as they look to best their nemesis Chelsea.
Premier League Spotlight previews the weekend’s top-flight fixtures, highlighting the key points to keep an eye on as the action unfolds.
Weekend fixtures
Saturday
Southampton vs. Tottenham
Burnley vs. Leicester
Crystal Palace vs. Hull
Newcastle vs. Swansea
QPR vs. West Ham
Stoke vs. Sunderland
West Brom vs. Liverpool
Man City vs. Aston Villa
Sunday
Everton vs. Man Utd
Arsenal vs. Chelsea
Battle of the Weekend: Arsenal vs. Chelsea
Maybe the true success of Arsenal’s season hinges on them beating Chelsea this weekend. Arsene Wenger has never defeated a Jose Mourinho team and this must sting something terrible. Having been denied the undignified chance to offer Mourinho a victorious handshake before the full-time whistle on 12 previous attempts, Wenger has another opportunity on Sunday at Emirates Stadium. No matter if they finish second or defend their FA Cup trophy, for the Portuguese to maintain his hex over the Frenchman would leave the Gunners as damaged goods going into next season.
The relationship between the two managers is, let’s say, not exactly cordial. There is a wonderful bitterness between the duo that has been disappointingly lacking in the Premier League of late. Such tension should be welcomed in a sport that is at risk of being watered down to seven-second clips and broad conclusions based on statistics set against the backdrop of an increasingly hollow corporate atmosphere. Their feud also adds another layer of intrigue to a whimpering season finale, by virtue of Chelsea having nine fingers on the Premier League trophy.
This time there is hope for Arsenal (deja vu, anyone?) that Wenger might finally defeat a manager who has made coming away the victor look like effortless bullying. The Gunners have shown, in particular with their two wins in Manchester, that they have the capability to manage games. Although it is unlikely Wenger would admit it, this is a leaf out of Mourinho’s surely inevitable book titled “If you can’t win, don’t lose.” It was a mantra executed in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat of Manchester United last Sunday. As predicted, Mourinho was prepared for a draw, but when the chance came for three points his team ruthlessly pounced.
Expect the same against Arsenal, because why exactly would you change a winning formula? They did it in October’s meeting at Stamford Bridge. When blood was smelt, Chelsea sunk their teeth, emerging as 2-0 winners. Strangely, this process — just like the performances that have ground out results that will ultimately secure them a first league title since 2010 — has come under scrutiny by those demanding style as well as substance. Over the duration of a season, quite often both are hard to achieve. But if you are to pick one, then plainly it is that which means something, which gets you your goal.
Arsenal have won just two of their past 12 league meetings with Chelsea.
Arsenal head into the match with so-called momentum. Wins have been coming thick and fast: Saturday’s over Reading in the semifinals of the FA Cup after extra time made it nine in a row in all competitions. So improved have the Gunners been in the second half of the season that they have won more points in 2015 than any other Premier League side (33). It is understandable to be carried away with the feel-good factor of that sequence, but really it exacerbates the sense of regret at what might have been had their start to the campaign not been so disappointing.
Excitingly, the contest has even more going for it than Wenger versus Mourinho and two sets of London fans who really don’t like each other. Former Arsenal darling Cesc Fabregas will make his first appearance at Emirates Stadium since leaving the club for Barcelona in 2011. Wenger had the opportunity to re-sign the midfielder last summer, but ultimately he headed for Chelsea, where he has since racked up 16 top-flight assists and is on course to exceed the number of trophies he managed in his eight years at Arsenal in his first season with the Blues. Ouch. Oh, and the habitual tormentor of Arsenal, Didier Drogba, could also play. Double ouch.
Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool look set for a return to the Europa League.
Under pressure: Brendan Rodgers
And so the swingometer has indeed swung once again, now signalling that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is more dunce than genius. It is fair and true that Sunday’s surprise FA Cup semifinal exit to Aston Villa was very dissatisfying for a club that has recently had a propensity for submitting when the pressure is ramped up. After they capitulated in the title race by finishing runners-up last season and also gave a poor account of themselves in the Champions League group stage this campaign, scrutiny has duly intensified over why Rodgers — whose team face West Brom this weekend — has not been able to translate his positive words into positive action.
But you can cut it another way. Rodgers’ squad, compared to his rivals’, is on paper hardly trophy-winning, even if it should still beat Villa. Perhaps the more measured conclusion is that he has over the course of his three years in charge worked within, and in spurts above, his means. Losing Luis Suarez to Barcelona last summer and then Daniel Sturridge through injuries would hinder even the best coach. As the clamour to appoint outgoing Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp amplifies on Merseyside, it should be very carefully considered whether ripping it up and starting again would really guarantee the exception, rather than the rule, that is instant success.
Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa are four points above the relegation zone.
Finding form: Aston Villa
The jury on Tim Sherwood’s managerial ability remains out. There are those who sneer at his heart-on-the-sleeve approach, suspicious his displays of bravado are because he rather enjoys having the cameras glued to him. This distractive approach is, however, a variation on tactics employed by some of the best managers in the game — Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson et al — so perhaps we’re doing Sherwood a disservice simply because of his London timbre. Indeed, maybe all the roaring is part of a grander plan. Maybe it is that he simply cares. What he mustn’t do, though, is allow emotion to get the better of him and his players, for the readjustment required having reached an FA Cup final and then returning to the fight for survival is a threat to their hopes. They travel to Man City on Saturday, by the way.
Two old rivals will meet again at the Emirates on Sunday.
Statistically speaking (via @ESPNStatsInfo)
– Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has never lost to his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger in 12 meetings in all competitions (W-D-L: 7-5-0). Chelsea under Mourinho are 4-5-0 all-time in the Premier League against Arsenal under Wenger, with a 15-4 goal advantage.
– Arsenal have won eight straight Premier League games, their longest winning streak since winning nine in a row in January-March of the 2003-04 season, when their “Invincibles” won the club’s last league title.
– Two is the magic number for Arsenal opponents. The Gunners have won 20 and drawn two this season when holding opponents to one goal or fewer, but are winless in 10 when their opponents score two or more. Chelsea have scored at least two goals in 20 of their 32 league matches this season.
– Since Mourinho returned to Chelsea last season, they are 7-0-4 against top-four opponents.
– If Chelsea win, don’t expect it to be a rout. Each of their past seven wins has come by just one goal and Mourinho’s men have led by two at any point of a match just once since Jan. 17 and that was for a total of only 19 minutes.
Click here for complete Soccer Power Index projections of the Premier League season.
Nigel Pearson seemingly came close to losing his job at Leicester in February.
Any other business: Burnley vs. Leicester
An absolute whopper of a game, this. Here’s the context: Burnley are bottom of the table, where Leicester only recently lay, and are two points behind their 18th-placed opponents, who have a game in hand on the Clarets and are in the relegation zone only by virtue of Hull’s better goal difference. And breathe. Leicester have also recently embarked on previously unthinkable run of three straight wins for the first time this season. While Nigel Pearson’s side are turning performances into results, Burnley appear to be running out of steam having huffed and puffed for much of the campaign. Losing (they drew 2-2 when meeting back in October) won’t mean the end for either side, but, by jove, it’s important in the context of demotion’s conqueror: belief.
James Dall is an associate editor at ESPN FC. You can follow him on Twitter @JamesDallESPN.