Chelsea have picked up wins in their previous three matches in all competitions but their next Premier League match is going to be a big test as they prepare to face Arsenal at home.
The Blues are currently 11th on the league table and have already dropped points in five out of their first eight matches but these three consecutive wins should have instilled a lot of confidence in the players as well as the manager.
However, Chelsea haven’t been able to beat Arsenal in their last four matches in all competitions and the way the Gunners are playing right now, it will be an uphill task to pick up three points on Saturday.
Pochettino cannot afford any more setbacks because they are entering the second quarter of the season so if they cannot shift gears right now it will be almost impossible for them to secure a European spot for the 24/25 campaign. Chelsea are playing at home so they will definitely want to put up a show and pick up a win but it won’t be the end of the world even if this match ends in a draw.
Chelsea’s team news and injury list:
Since the very beginning of the season, Mauricio Pochettino has been dealing with a long injury list and currently as many as 12 players are recovering from injuries.
Axel Disasi is a minor doubt with a muscle injury but the summer signing should be fit to feature in central defence alongside Thiago Silva. Reece James is another defender who has been out since the start of the season with a hamstring issue and even though he is edging closer, as per Football London, the England international is not going to be ready before Saturday.
James and Disasi were both seen training with the first team on Thursday so maybe they will go through a late fitness test this weekend.
Cole Palmer was the standout performer against Burnley but the youngster picked up an injury on international duty and was a doubt for the Arsenal game. He was withdrawn in the second half during England u21’s game against Serbia but his national team’s coach has claimed that the injury is not serious.
“I think Cole would be fine,” Carsley said. “But we don’t take any chances with any of the players. If there is a slight doubt that they’re going to miss a game at the weekend, we get them back to the clubs as quickly as we can.
“We could’ve kept Cole here another day and see how it was, but we didn’t think it was right.”
Thankfully, Palmer has been training at Cobham on Thursday morning which means the youngster is in line to feature against Arsenal.
Sterling was another star performer in that Burnley win but if he starts on the left wing then the Chelsea manager will have to keep Mudryk on the bench. Pochettino will not want to tinker with the starting line up that beat Burnley and unless there’s an injury concern, the Chelsea manager is not going to make too many major rotations.
Chelsea predicted line up vs Arsenal:
Predicted Starting line up(4-3-3): Sanchez; Disasi, Thiago Silva, Gusto, Colwill; Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, Caicedo; Palmer, Jackson, Raheem Sterling.
