It’s not often that a London Derby has a trophy on the line, but it’s not often that a London Derby takes place outside the UK capital either. The upcoming Europa League Final between Arsenal and Chelsea has massive stakes, specifically for one team.
- Date & Time
- May 29th, 2019 3:00pm
- Location
- Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan
- Media Coverage
- TNT
- Teams
It’s not often that a London Derby has a trophy on the line, but it’s not often that a London Derby takes place outside the UK capital either. The upcoming Europa League Final between Arsenal and Chelsea has massive stakes, specifically for one team. Arsenal need to win the Europa League in order to make it back to the Champions League next year. Another year outside the richest tournament in Europe will only stall their attempts to be competitive in league play once more, so they need this win on Wednesday.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal
Europa League Final Opening Odds:
Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea had any trouble in the group stage of the Europa League. Both teams finished atop their group with relative ease, and then they had different journeys in the knockout rounds.
Chelsea had no trouble with their first three opponents. They dismantled Malmo in the Round of 32, and then they crushed Dynamo Kyiv 8-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16. They could only beat Slavia Prague 1-0 on the road, but they scored four goals in the first 30 minutes in Stamford Bridge to put that one to bed. However, they nearly were upset be Eintracht Frankfurt in the semifinals. Luka Jovic lifted the visitors, and Frankfurt took Chelsea to penalties, but Kepa saved the day in the end.
The Gunners easily beat BATE Borisov in the Round of 32, but they nearly fell to Rennes in the next round. Arsenal lost on the road to the French club 3-1, yet they managed to win 3-0 at home to advance to the quarterfinals. Many thought Napoli would see them out of the competition, but Arsenal held them without a goal over two legs to make it to the semifinals. From there, they further impressed with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette combining to score seven goals to lead Arsenal past Valencia.
Injury Report
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been ruled out of the match for Chelsea with a lower leg injury, and the Blues will also be without Antonio Rudiger, Marco van Ginkel, Ethan Ampadu, and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Meanwhile, Gary Cahill and N’Golo Kante are probable to play.
Arsenal will be without two of their biggest playmakers, but for entirely different reasons. Aaron Ramsey is unavailable due to injury, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not travel to Azerbaijan because of security concerns since he is Armenian. The Gunners will also be without Konstantinos, Denis Suarez, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, and Danny Welbeck.
Arsenal Player to Watch
Aubameyang shared the Premier League’s Golden Boot this season, and he is the key for Arsenal here. The Gunners won’t have some of their best players for this match, so Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette will need to come up big for Arsenal to get the victory.
Chelsea Player to Watch
Eden Hazard has had a great season. He led the Premier League in assists with 15 on the season, and his 16 goals put him among the league leaders in that area as well. Hazard is the key to everything Chelsea wants to do on offense, so he’ll have a big part to play if they are going to claim a trophy in Azerbaijan.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal Betting Prediction
I like the over and Chelsea on the three-way line in this match. Neither one of these back lines is particularly impressive, and Petr Cech has not looked like the goalkeeper of old over the last few months. The Blues have more weapons than Arsenal, and I think they’ll get the victory because of them.
