Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview: Team News & Prediction

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This one is a potential thriller at Emirates Stadium on Sunday as two of the three teams with two wins from two face off as Chelsea travel to Arsenal in a London derby.

Kick-off date/time: 6 September 2026 at 4:30 pm

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – USA Network

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – DirecTV Stream

Arsenal preview: Perfect start

Defending champions Arsenal look in a brilliant spot at the moment and they have started the season extremely well, beginning with the winning of more silverware as they hammered Manchester City by three goals to nil in the Community Shield.

That was followed by a 3-0 defeat of last season’s Championship winners Coventry City before a professional display to defeat Aston Villa by a goal to nil at Villa Park, courtesy of a winner scored by England international winger Bukayo Saka.

Chelsea preview: Fun start for Alonso

Xabi Alonso has come into Chelsea and begun his reign with a couple of extremely entertaining victories that are reminiscent of quite a lot of wins that his unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen side pulled off in their 2023-24 Bundesliga title-winning campaign.

The Blues began with a 3-2 defeat of Fulham in a West London derby at Craven Cottage before a seven-goal thriller saw them defeat Brighton and Hove Albion by four goals to three at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal team news: Timber could return

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Jurrien Timber has returned to training for this one but the Dutchman still requires a late decision as to whether he will be involved.

Fellow defender William Saliba remains an absentee while Cristhian Mosquera was taking off as a precaution against Villa. Bruno Guimaraes has sustained another knock, too, but should be fine.

Predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Eze

Unavailable: Saliba (Injured)

Questionable: Mosquera (Injured), Timber (Fitness), Guimaraes (Injured)

Chelsea team news: Midfield dilemma

In his pre-match press conference, Xabi Alonso did not confirm or give any indication as to the status of Moises Caicedo, who has been dealing with fitness issues.

Summer signings Marco Palestra and Jordan Henderson are both sidelined with Romeo Lavia expected to continue to start in midfield with Valentin Barco an option to start alongside him. The other possibility is for Reece James to start in midfield with Malo Gusto keeping his spot at right wing-back.

Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Martinez; Fofana, Lacroix, Colwill; Gusto, James, Lavia, Hato; Palmer, Rogers; Pedro

Unavailable: Palestra (Injured), Henderson (Injured)

Questionable: Caicedo (Fitness)

Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction

Xabi Alonso has a pragmatic side and going gung-ho against Arsenal may not be the smartest idea but it could also pay off with The Gunners often unable to shift through the gears. Arsenal are, though, extremely resolute and that is unlikely to lead to them conceding more than one or two here but Chelsea may well be the team to challenge Arsenal at the Emirates and both teams scoring seems a decent bet in North London.

Arsenal vs Chelsea tip: Both teams to score