
Date: Sunday 6th November, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm
Stadium Stamford Bridge
Referee Michael Oliver (England)
Goal Scorer:
Team News
Chelsea
If Chelsea did not already have enough defensive absentees to worry about with long-term knee victims Wesley Fofana and Reece James - as well as midfield duo N'Golo Kante (thigh) and Carney Chukwuemeka (hamstring) - Ben Chilwell had to come off with a hamstring injury in the win over Zagreb.
The sight of the left-back limping off the pitch was bad news for both Chelsea and England fans, who will now have to await for the results of a scan, but Chilwell will definitely be absent this weekend.
Potter has already ruled Kepa Arrizabalaga out of contention too, so Edouard Mendy will keep his place in goal, and Mateo Kovacic should be fine to return to the engine room after missing out as a precaution in midweek with a tight calf.
Zakaria's strong debut ended with a minor contact injury, which should not rule him out of this game, but Potter may be hesitant to throw the Juventus loanee in the deep end and give him his first Premier League start against the league leaders, so Kovacic's return to the first XI would not be a surprise.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Chalobah, Silva, Koulibaly; Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Kovacic, Cucurella; Mount; Aubameyang, Sterling
Arsenal
As for Arsenal, fans witnessed the familiar yet painful sight of Takehiro Tomiyasu coming off injured in the dying embers of the win over Zurich. The severity of the defender's muscular issue is still unclear, but it would be a shock to see him line up here.
Emile Smith Rowe - who has scored in each of Arsenal's last two wins at Stamford Bridge - is still out after undergoing groin surgery, and a problem in the same area could also force Matt Turner out of contention, but Arteta was handed two major boosts in midweek.
The injury that Saka sustained against Nottingham Forest was only a minor one, and he was able to come on as a substitute in the Europa League, while Oleksandr Zinchenko was finally back in the squad after a troublesome calf injury.
Zinchenko did not earn any minutes as Tierney produced a man-of-the-match performance, which has certainly given Arteta food for thought here, but the Ukrainian's ability to help overload the midfield could ultimately win over, assuming he is deemed fit enough to start.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Jesus
Prediction: Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
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