Midweek Premier League Preview
Arsenal`s title charge continues after a comfortable 2-0 victory over Wolves last weekend, and now have the opportunity to go 3 points clear at the summit. With the Premier League being the last hope of silverware this season, we expect Arsenal to go in with full focus this London Derby. The 2 sides met in the reverse fixture this season, which ended in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, but their last meeting at the Emirates ended in a 3-1 victory to the hosts. However, their recent meetings at the Emirates have been fairly even – Arsenal won 3 of their last 6 matches, Chelsea won 2 and 1 draw. Nevertheless, Chelsea have given teams like Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle, and others a real challenge this season, and considering Arsenal's recent 2-0 home defeat to Villa, we wouldn`t look past them in this game.
Chelsea`s last hope of silverware was crushed by Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinal meeting last weekend. With European qualification their sole focus, the Blues will look to extend their 8-game unbeaten run in the Premier League with a London Derby glory. Chelsea travel to the Emirates on the back of a 6-0 victory over Everton before the FA Cup exit. Although shaky against bottom-half teams this season, Chelsea has given the big sides a real challenge, with the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Man City and Man United all settling for a draw or tasting a defeat against the Blues, and as mentioned their recent trips to the Emirates have not always gone in favour of the home side recently. Therefore, we expect this to be a tight game that can go either way and we anticipate both teams to score and over 2.5 goals.
5 points clear from the relegation zone, Everton face a Merseyside challenge that can halt their drop-zone escape. Succumbing to a humiliating 6-0 defeat against Chelsea, the Toffees have regathered their act and secured a 2-0 victory over Nottingham last weekend. Going into their second consecutive game at Goodison Park, Everton will have some confidence as they`ve suffered just 1 defeat in the last 6 home games in the Premier League, although 3 of those were draws, and their most recent 2 ended in victories. However, the Toffees have failed to beat Liverpool in their last 5 meetings, with a 2-0 victory over their neighbours coming in 2021. Most importantly, however, 4 of their last 6 meetings at Goodison Park ended in a goalless draw, signifying the potential problems Everton can pose for Liverpool.
Full throttle in the Premier League title race, Liverpool will require a win over Everton to level points with Arsenal if the Gunners manage to claim a London Derby victory over Chelsea. Having crashed out of the Europa League at the hands of Atalanta, the Reds showed full focus on the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Fulham last weekend. Although they`ve had problems at Goodison Park in recent years, Klopp`s visits its neighbours in good away form this season, having lost just 2 out of all of their away games in the topflight. They`ve also taken a 2-0 victory over the Toffees in the reverse fixture this season. Considering Liverpool`s full focus on the Premier League, we expect to see a strong display from them this time, and the Reds have not held back on scoring goals this season. Therefore we anticipate Liverpool to win, and repeat their last season`s 4-1 victory at Goodison with over 2.5 goals.