Chelsea vs Arsenal preview: London rivals lock horns at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Arsenal lock horns for the second time in less than a month at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Lampard's side ran out 2-1 winners at the Emirates Stadium back in December the last time these two London rivals faced off and looked to be taking a real stranglehold on that final Champions League spot until their late defeat to Newcastle United last time out.

Arsenal have remained unbeaten since that December meeting, although consecutive 1-1 draws with Crystal Palace and Sheffield United in their last two games will leave Mikel Arteta with much to ponder before heading to the Bridge.

Will Chelsea cement their place in the Champions League spots, or will Arsenal finally start climbing the Premier League table?

When is Chelsea vs Arsenal

Competition: Premier League

Venue: Stamford Bridge

Date: Tuesday, January 21 2020

Kick-off: 8:15 PM (UK time)

Team News

Chelsea: Reece James' ankle injury could be enough to keep him out of Tuesday's clash and the teenager faces a late fitness test. Christian Pulisic and Marco van Ginkel are on the treatment table, while Marcos Alonso is set to return to the squad. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is still not ready to feature.

Lampard may opt to make a number of changes to his starting line-up given the quick turnaround between games with the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley aiming to win a starting berth.

Arsenal: Sokratis missed Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Sheffield United but Shkodran Mustafi put in a solid performance in his absence, so Arteta may be tempted to stick with him and David Luiz in central defence.

Hector Bellerin is bidding to recover from a hamstring injury while Kieran Tierney remains sidelined and Sead Kolasinac is a doubt, meaning Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka may fill in in the full-back positions again.

Reiss Nelson is injured, while captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is suspended.

Probable Lineups

Prediction

Neither side really took advantage of some favourable results last time out and still have plenty of work to do if they’re to meet their respective goals.

Given that they’re still stuck back in 10th place, Arsenal need the points more than Chelsea. But the Blues have far more quality throughout their ranks and boast a favourable recent record against their London rivals, so we expect that trend to continue here.

Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal