Arsenal vs Chelsea: Premier League – prediction, teams, lineups

What the report says

Arsenal and Chelsea are set to meet at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday in a Premier League match that brings together two managers with a long personal history: Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso, both 44 and former Basque Country teammates. Al Jazeera reports that this will be their first Premier League meeting as coaches, although they previously faced each other in a 2024 friendly when Alonso was at Bayer Leverkusen.

Both clubs have started the season strongly, taking six points from their first two league matches. Arteta said he was pleased to go up against Alonso and argued that Arsenal will need to control the tempo, especially if Chelsea’s attack starts quickly. The report notes that Chelsea have made an eye-catching early impression through Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer, while Arsenal are leaning on players such as Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Bukayo Saka.

The article also places the match in the context of transfer-window changes. Arsenal brought in Greece winger Christos Tzolis, while Chelsea saw Enzo Fernandez move to Manchester City in a reported 125-million-pound deal. Alonso said Chelsea must “move forward” after the midfielder’s exit and added that the squad is ready to continue despite the aborted move for Lamine Camara.

Al Jazeera’s report says Opta’s supercomputer gives Arsenal a 56 percent chance of winning, compared with 21 percent for Chelsea. It also lists several injury doubts, including Moises Caicedo for Chelsea and a number of Arsenal defenders, which could affect the lineups and balance of the contest.