
Arsenal rotated heavily for their Champions League last 16 second leg with PSV on Wednesday, while Chelsea also made changes for their clash with Copenhagen. Both sides will be at throttle for their final game in March.
The draw at Manchester United last weekend was perhaps the final nail in Arsenal’s coffin as they bid to catch Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
They may not end the season trophyless, though, as the Gunners, unlike the runaway league leaders, are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they will play Real Madrid.
Arsenal must ensure they finish in the top five, and avoiding defeat at home to Chelsea would help massively. The gap between the clubs is currently six points with 10 games to go. Sealing Champions League qualification for next season would allow Mikel Arteta to focus almost solely on Europe for the rest of this term.
Chelsea have recovered well from a run of three consecutive defeats in February. They have won four straight matches in all competitions, though the latest three triumphs weren’t the most convincing, all by the odd goal against Leicester City at home, and Copenhagen home and away.
The win in Denmark a week ago was the Blues’ first away success of 2025. The 4-3 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on December 8th was the last time they walked away with all three points on the road in the league.
Cole Palmer’s poor form will be a slight concern. The England star is without a goal contribution since January 14th.
The Gunners have only suffered one defeat against Chelsea in 11 meetings this decade. That Blues success came in August 2021, when Romelu Lukaku and Reece James scored in a 2-0 win.
Chelsea have picked up just two points in six H2Hs since then, each coming in draws at Stamford Bridge this season and last season.
When the sides met in November 2024, Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead on the hour mark before Pedro Neto cancelled out the Brazilian’s effort 10 minutes later.
The Gunners pushed for a late winner, but Enzo Maresca’s side held on for a well-earned point.
Arsenal hold the recent head-to-head bragging rights and a significant home advantage given the Blues’ road struggles.
Chelsea have kept three clean sheets in their last four outings and will look to keep the Gunners out.
The best bet for Sunday’s London derby is for both Declan Rice and Pedro Neto to register a shot.
Neto is enjoying a regular run of games at Chelsea. Having come off the bench to score against West Ham at the start of last month, the Portuguese has started every fixture since. He has had at least one shot in each of his last seven matches, averaging 1.85 efforts per game during that period.
He has played through the middle in his last four appearances, but it matters not where he plays. Neto always finds a way to get shots off and having had three attempts in the reverse fixture, one of which found the net, I’m happy to get him on board in this bet builder.
Rice also makes sense as a second selection. The home win over Manchester City was the only time the Arsenal midfielder has not registered a shot in 2025 when he has been named in the starting lineup.
The £100m man has scored two in two, taking his tally for the campaign to seven.
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