Chelsea v Arsenal predictions: Blues can back up Wembley win

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Chelsea v Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event/Football, 7.45pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea
1pt 17-20 Betfair, Betfred

Team news

Chelsea
Mateo Kovacic (ankle), Callum Hudson-Odoi (calf) and Ben Chilwell (knee) remain sidelined.

Arsenal
Alexandre Lacazette (illness) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (match fitness) are doubts and Kieran Tierney (knee) and Thomas Partey (thigh) are ruled out.

Match preview

Arsenal are going through a sticky patch at a crucial stage of the season and their losing sequence could extend to four when they take on FA Cup finalists Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The match is of greater importance to the Gunners, who are three points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham and need to make the most of their game in hand.

But Mikel Arteta's young side have lost three league games on the bounce for the first time since August and seem to be buckling under the intense pressure of the top-four scrap.

Arsenal were handed a huge boost on Saturday lunchtime when Spurs succumbed to a surprise 1-0 loss at home to Brighton, but within a few hours they found themselves back at square one after a hugely disappointing 1-0 defeat at Southampton.

Arteta's side were largely dominant against Saints, winning the shot count 23 to nine, but lacked a clinical touch in attack and failed to score for a third time in five matches.

Alexandre Lacazette missed that game due to illness, according to the club, but may be ready to play some part against the Blues. However, the 30-year-old Frenchman, who is out of contract this summer, has admitted to being in talks with 'a lot of clubs' over a transfer and has had a poor season, scoring four goals in 25 league appearances.

A general lack of firepower has been an issue for Arsenal, who are the lowest scorers among the top seven, and it seems certain that at least one new centre-forward will be top of their summer shopping list.

However, the quality of player they will be able to attract depends greatly on their league finish, and the next few days could be crucial with the Londoners following up their short trip to Chelsea with Saturday's home game against Manchester United.

Chelsea should have a less stressful end to the season, although they need to pick up a few more wins to make absolutely sure of a top-four finish.

Thomas Tuchel will want that wrapped up as soon as possible, allowing him to concentrate on preparing properly for next month's FA Cup final, which is likely to determine the assessment of their season.

The Blues were knocked out of the Champions League last week and have fallen off the searing pace in the title race, but their 62-point tally after 30 games is 11 more than at the same stage of last season and that is no mean feat given the off-field problems the club have gone through.

Sunday's FA Cup semi-final looked a potential banana-skin, bearing in mind it came just five days after the disappointment of their Champions League exit at the Bernabeu.

But Tuchel's team dealt with it with the minimum of fuss and they should follow up with a seventh Premier League win in eight games.

Key stat

Arsenal have lost their last three matches.

Inside info

Chelsea

Penalty taker Jorginho
Free-kick wizard Mason Mount
Set-piece aerial threat Antonio Rudiger
Card magnet Marcos Alonso

Arsenal

Penalty taker Alexandre Lacazette
Free-kick wizard Martin Odegaard
Set-piece aerial threat Gabriel
Card magnet Granit Xhaka

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