Premier League games don’t come much bigger than this when a title challenge hangs in the balance, and Chelsea will be out to ensure London stays blue.
For Arsenal, visiting Stamford Bridge doesn’t exactly bring back many recent happy memories, but the Gunners can take confidence from the result in the return fixture.
Goals from Ozil, Alexis and Walcott saw Arsenal see of their London rivals in superb fashion, before a change of formation saw Conte’s men rise up the table.
Nine points ahead in the table, Chelsea might seem to be in cruise control but other sides from the top six have proven that points are just as easy to take from them.
However, it looks as if Arsene Wenger will have a depleted midfield to match up against Chelsea’s dominant force, with four central players ruled out of this one.
Arsenal Team News
Things have gone from bad to worse in the Arsenal midfield, with Aaron Ramsey now looking at three weeks on the sidelines after picking up a calf problem.
Olivier Giroud will take a late fitness test to determine whether the knock on his ankle is too severe to put him into the squad, although changes are expected up top.
The Gunners misfiring against Watford confirmed Wenger got the starting XI wrong, so we’re likely to see Walcott and possibly Lucas on from the first whistle.
Danny Welbeck will earn himself a place on the bench, whilst Mohamed Elneny remains at the AFCON and Granit Xhaka will serve the third game of his four match ban.
Arsenal Absentees: A. Ramsey (calf), G. Xhaka (suspended), M. Elneny (international duty), S. Cazorla (ankle), O. Giroud (doubt)
Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Oxalde-Chamberlain, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Alexis
Chelsea Team News
Things are looking up for Antonio Conte despite his sides Premier League slip up in mid-week after dropping two points away to Liverpool.
The beauty of having no European football this season means his players can have a decent rest, therefore cutting the chances of picking up any serious injuries.
The Blues have no injury concerns going into this London derby, and will have a huge advantage with the quality of player they have to come off of the bench.
If anything, Conte will have a selection headache with the Willian/Moses and Fabregas/Matic positions to select his best man for the job.
Chelsea Absentees: N/A
Predicted Line-Up (3-4-3):Â Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill, Kante, Matic, Moses, Alonso, Hazard, Pedro, Costa
Want more Arsenal updates like this? Follow us on Twitter @Fresh_Arsenal!