Tuesday’s London derby between title contenders Arsenal and 12th-place Chelsea will be crucial, with the Gunners needing a win over the Blues to stay in the English Premier League title race.
Manchester City, now the league leaders, defeated Arsenal 4-1 at home last week. Then, on Sunday, Manchester City surpassed Arsenal in the league table with a 2-1 victory over Fulham.
Manchester City, the back-to-back English champions, have 76 points after 32 games, which means they lead the title battle under Erling Haaland.
Second-place Arsenal, which is chasing its first Premier League title since 2004, has 75 points heading into Tuesday’s derby at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal cannot afford to make another mistake against Chelsea in the derby since Manchester City has a game in hand.
Chelsea, one of the league’s large clubs, is having a bad season, but they can affect Arsenal’s title chances.
“They’ll try to come to the Emirates and beat us.” They have a fantastic management and exceptional players, so predicting what they will accomplish is difficult because they can play in a variety of ways with different individuals and traits. “We’re going to prepare for the game in order to win it,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
Even though Chelsea is in the lower tiers of the league, he believes they are “dangerous” opponents for the Gunners.
The match between Arsenal and Chelsea will begin at 1900GMT.