Arsenal will be aiming to preserve their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League when they host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
The Gunners have a healthy advantage over Manchester City in the league standings, but the Cityzens have a game in hand against Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola’s side can reduce the gap to just two points if they beat Leeds United this evening.
Hence, Sunday’s London derby appears a must-win for the Gunners. Manager Mikel Arteta could make one big change to the starting XI to face Chelsea.
The Gunners produced a dominant derby display against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, winning 4-1 on the road.
Eberechi Eze was picked to start in the number 10 position, with Arteta obviously remembering his sublime hat-trick against Spurs in the reverse fixture.
The Englishman repeated the performance with a sublime brace, and it would be a surprise if he is dropped to the bench against the Blues tomorrow.
Instead, we anticipate Leandro Trossard to get the axe for captain Martin Odegaard to be reinstated.
The £30 million signing has had a tough season with five separate injuries, but his recent domestic form has been impressive, with six goal contributions in nine matches.
The Norwegian’s record against the Blues has been equally good over the past five years. He has notched up two goals and five assists from just nine league appearances.
Odegaard is one of the best in the league at leading the high press against opponents. It could be key on Sunday against a potentially vulnerable Blues backline.
Liam Rosenior’s side are guaranteed to be without Marc Cucurella (hamstring) and Wesley Fofana (suspension). Arsenal could trigger errors with their high pressing.
We would also prefer Odegaard’s work rate in the heart of the midfield against the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo to Eze’s more languid playing style.
Eze should still make the starting XI from the left wing. The 27-year-old was caught out defensively in a similar position for Matty Cash’s goal for Aston Villa back in December.
However, he has shown more defensive awareness in recent weeks. Starting Piero Hincapie over Riccardo Calafiori at left-back also provides more defensive solidity, in our view.
It remains to be seen whether Arteta considers bringing back Odegaard into the starting line-up or goes with an unchanged XI for Sunday’s much-anticipated derby against Chelsea.