Key events
Barring a 3-0 win at Preston in the Carabao Cup, It's been a lean old streak for Arsenal since the previous international break, especially away from home. The Gunners have drawn blanks at Bournemouth, Inter and Newcastle, a run of defeats that has raised questions about Mikel Arteta's tactics and the team's overall fluidity.
Will Ødegaard's return be the panacea for all these problems? Barney Ronay doubts it.
We are in the last 30 minutes of the previous starts:
So everyone starts, injury doubt or not! Palmer probably isn't much of a surprise. Maresca has played his cards pretty close to his chest in recent press conferences when asked about the playmaker's fitness and was helped by the fact that Palmer is not in Chelsea's Conference League squad. He should be fit and ready to take center stage today. Reece James drops to the Blues bench with Cucurella as preferred and Gusto as right back.
The biggest concern is Arsenal's injury contingent, with Declan Rice apparently playing despite a broken toe and Ødegaard just returning from a long-standing ankle problem.
The positive result for both teams (and the neutrals) is two benches full of potential game changers: Félix, Nkunku, Trossard, Jesus… oooft.
team news
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Substitutes: Jorgensen, Badiashile, James, Tosin, Veiga, Fernández, Mudryk, J.Félix, Nkunku.
Arsenal (4-3-3): stripe; Blanco, Saliba, Gabriel, Wood; Rice, Partey, Ødegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Substitutes: Neto, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Trossard, Jesús.
Official team news will be posted at 3:15 p.m. We await news on several key midfielders. Arsenal Fans will be desperate to see Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard. Both players are said to have arrived at Stamford Bridge, along with Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino, who suffered knocks in Milan in midweek.
Chelsea's concerns center around Cole Palmer, who was on the end of a Lisandro Martinez attack at Manchester United last weekend, but the general consensus seems to be that Palmer will be fine. It would arguably be the biggest failure of all.
Here are some pre-match readings.
Preamble
It is without a doubt the main match of the weekend, and a rarity as it is a clash between two elite teams so difficult to predict. There are cases to be made for both sides. Chelsea, one of the Premier League's in-form teams, have just claimed an 8-0 victory and have lately renewed their hopes under Enzo Maresca; although Arsenal, although disjointed and irritable of late, have the pedigree of having challenged for the title in the last two seasons, during which time Chelsea finished in mid-table.
There are some delightful individual contests to watch that will decide the contest. Will Nicolas Jackson win the battle against William Saliba? Can Declan Rice chain Cole Palmer (if the latter is fit)? and could Chelsea's new action-packed midfield Will he rule the roost or will Martin Ødegaard (if fit) provide the Gunners with a timely boost in that area?
Official team news will be coming soon. Kick-off is at 4:30pm GMT (UK time). He should be a good person.
