Before Wednesday and Thursday brings the second half of Double Gameweek 34, tonight’s Premier League action is at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal and Chelsea go head-to-head at 20:00 BST.
Both London sides have struggled in recent weeks, with 12th-placed Chelsea on five successive defeats in all competitions and Arsenal’s title challenge fading after a four-game winless run.
From a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective, we’re seeing an Arsenal defence that’s conceded multiple times in each of these four face Chelsea’s blunt attack. The Blues have two goals from five league games and, since Gameweek 12, are the league’s lowest scorers with just 15 goals from 23.
The headline news is that Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m) only makes Arsenal’s bench, allowing Leandro Trossard (£6.6m) to step in. January signing Jakub Kiwior (£4.0m) starts his first league game in place of Rob Holding (£4.2m), while fellow winter addition Jorginho (£5.7m) is quickly reunited with his former teammates. Out goes Thomas Partey (£4.7m).
Chelsea have also brought in someone familiar to their opponents, as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£8.4m) faces the club he spent four years at. 68 league goals came in that time, including two consecutive campaigns of 22 strikes.
Noni Madueke (£5.4m) comes in too, with Conor Gallagher (£5.6m) and Trevoh Chalobah (£4.4m) making way. Injuries stop Reece James (£5.8m), Mason Mount (£7.2m), Kalidou Koulibaly (£5.5m) and Marc Cucurella (£4.9m) from being involved, whilst Arsenal are still without William Saliba (£4.9m).
Popular FPL names Ben Chilwell (£5.7m), Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.6m), Bukayo Saka (£8.2m) and Martin Odegaard (£6.6m) all start but Kai Havertz (£7.4m) and Joao Felix (£7.2m) are benched.
GAMEWEEK 34 LINE-UPS
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
Subs: Turner, Holding, Tierney, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Martinelli, Nketiah
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Fofana, Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Fernandez, Kovacic; Madueke, Aubameyang, Sterling
Subs: Mendy, Badiashile, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Gallagher, Ziyech, Mudryk, Havertz, Joao Felix
