Chelsea VS Arsenal
Sunday (16/09/2017)
13:30 (WAT)
N'Golo Kante has identified his France international team-mate Alexandre Lacazette as the key to Chelsea stopping Arsenal on Sunday.Sunday (16/09/2017)
13:30 (WAT)
Arsenal spent a club-record £52million to buy Lacazette in July from Lyon, where he found the net 100 times in Ligue 1.
The 26-year-old has adapted quickly to the Premier League too, scoring in wins over Leicester and Bournemouth.
And Kante, who impressed on his first Champions League appearance in Tuesday's 6-0 win against Qarabag, said: "I think maybe in England, you don’t know him very well.
"But in France, he was a very good goalscorer who scored for many, many years and he will be a threat for Sunday’s game.
"We have to be ready to stop him but the most important thing is the team and we need to win."
Conte chose to rest a number of players during the week against Qarabag, with David Luiz and Alvaro Morata among those to drop to the bench. Both should return to the starting line-up on Sunday and Eden Hazard could also feature from the start having played the guts of an hour.
Gary Cahill returns from suspension and should take his place in the heart of defence ahead of Antonio Rudiger.
Potential starting XI: Courtois; Cahill, Azpilicueta, Luiz; Alonso, Zappacosta, Kante, Fabregas, Hazard; Pedro, Morata.
The Gunners have a Europa League game against Koln to navigate before they make preparations for the game against the Blues, but Wenger is likely to rotate his key players to ensure they remain fit and available.
Francis Coquelin has been struck down with a hamstring injury and is unlikely to play, while Santi Cazorla is training again, but will not be ready for a number of weeks.
Potential starting XI: Cech; Mustafi, Monreal, Koscielny; Bellerin, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Ramsey; Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette.
However, in the space of just a few games, Conte's side look much-improved as they feel the welcome boost of recovered stars Tiemoue Bakayoko and Eden Hazard, as well as new signing Davide Zappacosta.
While the Blues have steadied themselves after an early wobble, Arsenal appear to have grown increasingly unstable, with off-field distractions surrounding the futures of star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil intertwined with a series of disappointing on-field displays.
Having lost badly to Stoke and Liverpool, the game against Chelsea is a crucial juncture for the Gunners and Wenger. Victory will catapult them up the table and help to banish their frustrating start, but a loss will see them drift further away from the place they need to be.
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