Arsenal vs Chelsea Prediction, Predicted Lineups & Team News
Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday with both sides unbeaten on six points, which is where the similarity ends. Arsenal have scored four without conceding, while Chelsea's first two matches have produced 12 total goals. Our Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction favors Mikel Arteta's side to make that difference in control count.
Chelsea have not kept a clean sheet in 18 consecutive league matches, their longest run since 1960-61. Xabi Alonso has won both of his Premier League games in charge and described the second, a 4-3 victory over Brighton, with the words: "I am not excited."
This preview covers predicted lineups, injury news, head-to-head history, the tactical matchup and a score prediction for Sunday's Premier League game in north London.
When & Where to Watch (USA)
Sunday, Sept. 6 at 4:30 PM BST / 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
- English TV: USA Network
- Spanish TV: Telemundo
- Streaming: Peacock, Fubo, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream
Arsenal vs Chelsea Lineups & Injury News
Arsenal vs Chelsea Predicted Lineups
Predicted lineups: Arsenal are projected in a 4-2-3-1 with one change from the side that won at Villa Park, as Ezri Konsa comes in for Cristhian Mosquera, who has a hamstring scare. Chelsea are projected in the 3-4-2-1 Alonso has used throughout, with Reece James at right wing back in place of Malo Gusto and Emiliano Martinez keeping the goalkeeper's shirt he took a week after signing.
ArsenalARS
ChelseaCHEArsenalPredictedChelseaPredictedArsenal predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1):David Raya; Ben White, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Christos Tzolis; Kai Havertz
Chelsea predicted starting XI (3-4-2-1):Emiliano Martinez; Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix; Pedro Neto, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Jorrel Hato; Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers; Joao Pedro
Check the Premier League injury table and the player news feed before kickoff because there are still some questions.
Arsenal Team News & Injuries
William Saliba is out for a while yet with the back problem he aggravated at the World Cup. He declined surgery in favor of managed rehabilitation and Arteta has said it "is going to take a while." Jurrien Timber is the closer call than he was: he trained with the group this week after three consecutive weeks of on-field work, though Arteta stopped short of saying he would be available Sunday. Ben White keeps the right back shirt either way.
Mosquera is the live one, and it is now a hamstring rather than an unnamed feeling. He played 90 minutes at Villa Park and was involved in the buildup to the winner before being withdrawn, and Arteta is waiting on Saturday's session: "It was more precautionary more than anything else, so we will have to see tomorrow how he feels." If he does not make it, Konsa starts against the club he left ten days earlier, which is why the projection has him in.
Bruno Guimaraes picked up a knock this week on top of the groin problem that cost him the opener, and Arteta expects him back in training Saturday: "He had a knock and he is being assessed but probably tomorrow he will be OK for training." Even cleared he may be eased in from the bench, which is why Myles Lewis-Skelly is projected to keep the place next to Rice.
Viktor Gyokeres is also fit but has yet to play a Premier League minute this season, with Kai Havertz retaining the center-forward spot.
That leaves center-back as the only obvious change from the side that has opened the season with consecutive clean sheets.
Chelsea Team News & Injuries
Moises Caicedo is the concern and the call comes late. He asked to come off against Brighton within minutes of coming on, discomfort related to the previous problem rather than a new one, and Alonso is waiting until the last session before deciding: "We will check tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last session for the squad on Sunday." Romeo Lavia, Reece James and Malo Gusto are the ones who benefit if he is not cleared, and the projection here already assumes he is not. Jordan Henderson is working back from a World Cup wrist injury. Marco Palestra is still out but says he is close: "it's still a few days away, but I feel much better," which keeps Pedro Neto on the right wing back side for now.
Chelsea are close to full strength numerically, but the defense remains unsettled and Caicedo's fitness could determine how Alonso sets up his midfield.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Head-to-Head Record
These clubs have met 215 times, with Arsenal winning 88 to Chelsea's 66 and 61 drawn. In the Premier League alone it is 67 meetings, Arsenal 27, Chelsea 20, and 20 draws.
The current run is emphatic. Arsenal are unbeaten in the last ten meetings across all competitions, winning seven and drawing three, and unbeaten in the last nine in the league. They have won their last four home league games against Chelsea, their best such run since taking five straight between 1990 and 1994. Chelsea's last win over Arsenal was a 2-0 at the Emirates on Aug. 22, 2021, five years ago.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Tactical Analysis
Arsenal have not conceded a goal. Coventry were beaten 3-0 with Havertz, Saka and Odegaard scoring, and Aston Villa lost 1-0 at home without registering a single shot on target, which meant Raya made no saves. Arteta's summary of the Villa game was about the two halves of the job: "when we had to suffer, we did suffer, and when we had to be really dominant, we were." He has done it without Saliba and without Timber, which is the strongest argument yet for the way he spent this summer, five signings around the 50 million mark rather than one enormous one.
Chelsea are the most watchable team in the league and possibly the least controlled. They led Brighton 3-0 inside 32 minutes and won 4-3, and along the way conceded 74.4 percent possession, the highest figure recorded against Chelsea since 2003-04, and completed 146 passes, their fewest in a Premier League game in the same span. Before that they won 3-2 at Fulham. Alonso is only the fourth manager to oversee seven or more goals in his first two Premier League games, after Bobby Robson, Michael Laudrup and Marcelo Bielsa, and he keeps describing it as a process rather than a plan working.
The 18-game clean-sheet drought is the number that decides how this reads. Chelsea have conceded in every league game since the middle of last season, and they are walking into a side that has scored four goals in two games from a settled front line. Joao Pedro is the counterweight and he has been extraordinary, producing a goal, an assist and an own goal against Brighton, only the sixth player in Premier League history to manage all three in one match, while winning 13 duels.
Cole Palmer is the swing. Alonso has been explicit about needing him: "if we want to have a good team we need a great Cole." Palmer scored the winner at Fulham and the decisive fourth against Brighton after a 10-goal league season, and he looks reset. Against Arsenal's double pivot of Rice and Lewis-Skelly, whether he can find the pocket in front of Gabriel and Konsa is most of Chelsea's route in.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Key Matchups
Joao Pedro vs Gabriel and Ezri Konsa
The best in-form forward in the league against the only defense yet to concede, with the added wrinkle that the man marking him may be making his Arsenal debut from the start. Joao Pedro has three goal involvements in two games and thrives on chaos, drifting off the front and arriving late rather than standing still. Konsa is an experienced Premier League center back who spent last season doing exactly this job for Villa, but he has played 20-odd minutes for Arsenal and this is a London derby at a full Emirates. Gabriel is the constant, and Arsenal have not needed him to be brilliant yet.
Cole Palmer vs Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly
Chelsea's two No. 10s are Palmer and Morgan Rogers, and Arsenal's answer is a double pivot rather than a single holder. Rice is doing the job he has always done, and Lewis-Skelly next to him is the more interesting half, a converted left back being used in central midfield rather than in defense. Palmer has scored in both league games and both came from him picking up possession outside the box and driving at goal. If Arsenal's pivot lets him turn, Chelsea will get their goal. If they do not, Chelsea have to score from the wing backs.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Odds
Arsenal are favored at home between -143 and -165 with the draw settled around +275, but Chelsea's price is the one to look at: +350 at BetMGM out to +420 at FanDuel. A 70-cent spread on the away side of a London derby says the books are valuing Chelsea's back three differently rather than reacting to anything in the team news.
| Sportsbook | Arsenal | Draw | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | -160 | +250 | +350 |
| DraftKings | -145 | +280 | +400 |
| FanDuel | -165 | +280 | +420 |
| bet365 | -150 | +275 | +400 |
| Kalshi | -143 | +279 | +372 |
Odds from OddsJam. For more markets and the rest of the matchweek, see RotoWire's soccer betting page and the best sportsbook promos.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Set-Piece Takers
Set-piece responsibility for both clubs comes from RotoWire's Premier League set-piece takers guide, which covers all 20 teams for 2026-27.
Arsenal
- Corners & free kicks: Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Martin Odegaard
- Penalties: Viktor Gyokeres, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Bruno Guimaraes
Chelsea
- Corners & free kicks: Reece James, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer
- Penalties: Cole Palmer, Danny Welbeck
Gyokeres is listed first on Arsenal penalties and has not been on the pitch, so Saka is the man in possession of that job with Odegaard behind him. Chelsea's list has thinned considerably, with Enzo Fernandez gone to Manchester City, Estevao a substitute and Valentin Barco out on loan, which leaves James and Palmer to do almost all of it.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Prediction
Arsenal have kept two clean sheets, are unbeaten in ten against this opponent and have not lost a home league game to Chelsea in three attempts. Chelsea have scored seven, which is why this will not be quiet, but they have also conceded five and have not shut anyone out in 18 league games. That is a team that will trade, and trading with a settled Arsenal front line at the Emirates is how you lose by two. Joao Pedro and Palmer are good enough to get one, and I expect they will. I do not expect Chelsea to keep pace at the other end.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
Upcoming Fixtures
Arsenal travel to Sunderland on Sept. 12 and Chelsea host Hull City the same day, with both clubs starting their Champions League campaigns in the following midweek.
For the rest of the matchweek, see RotoWire's Premier League predicted and confirmed lineups, the injury table, team stats and the EPL draft kit.
