(Getty)
Chelsea welcome Arsenal to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, hoping to avenge a 3-0 defeat at Emirates earlier in the season. That result marked a turning point for Antonio Conte and Chelsea, who responded to that loss with 13 straight wins.
Arsenal will be without Arsene Wenger on the sidelines, as Wenger continues to serve his four-match ban for pushing an official. His team did not play well without him during the week, and injuries mean he won’t field the same team that was so successful in the first matchup. Wenger did gave his players a few extra days off to recover from the midweek action, and Olivier Giroud looks set to return from an ankle injury.
Chelsea dropped points for only the second time in three months on Wednesday in a 1-1 draw at Anfield. The game was nearly within their grasp, but Diego Costa’s penalty attempt at 75 minutes in was turned away by Simon Mignolet. All three of Chelsea’s league losses this season have been to the top six teams (Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham).
Here are the basics:
DATE: Saturday, February 4, 2017
CHANNEL: NBC Sports Network
KICKOFF TIME: 7:30 a.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Stamford Bridge
ODDS: Chelsea -115, Arsenal +300, Draw +265, Chelsea -.5, O/U 2.5 Goals (Bovada)