Update: N’Golo Kante has suffered a new injury this week, and he’s now a doubt for this match.
It’s a London derby Europa League Final, as Chelsea and Arsenal, two teams very familiar with their opponents’ tactics and capabilities, will square off in Baku. The stakes are very high as Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is aiming to win his first major trophy in coaching.
For Arsenal, it’s win or you’re back in the Europa League again next season. With reports circulating that their top transfer targets are concerned about the opportunity to play Champions League football next season, the Gunners could see a very negative chain reaction here with a loss whilst a win could incite some positive momentum.
Logistically, the set-up for this game failed both sides. Chelsea won’t endorse the Baku, Azerbaijan travel plan for their supporters while Arsenal are upset about the small number of tickets allotted to their supporters.
Then you have the case of Arsenal winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who will miss the match due to the political climate. UEFA failed him, and Arsenal, by not providing adequate assurance he will be safe in Azerbaijan. Incendiary political tensions currently exist between the host country and Mkhitaryan’s birthplace, Armenia (Micki is the national team’s captain), over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Mkhitaryan, his family, and the club decided it’s best he not travel to Baku next week.
The Gunners have more than their fair share of injury absentees as well.
Aaron Ramsey (off to Juventus), and Denis Suarez (back to Barcelona with loan deal complete) have played their final games in an Arsenal shirt, due to a thigh and groin injuries respectively.
Meanwhile you also have the three Gunners who missed all or most of 2019- Hector Bellerin (knee), Rob Holding (knee), Danny Welbeck (ankle) all ruled out of Wednesday’s match due to injury.
Flipping over to the other touchline, they have a slew of injuries as well. Central defender Antonio Rudiger is out after undergoing knee surgery while forward Callum Hudson-Odoi is also unavailable, having underwent surgery on his injured Achilles.
It’s the same injury suffered by midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was struck by that serious misfortune ten days ago during the Blues’ win over the New England Revolution in the “Final Whistle on Hate” charity fundraising friendly.
Chelsea vs Arsenal UEFA Europa League Final FYIs
Kickoff: Wednesday, May 29, 8pm, Baku Olympic Stadium
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Arsenal FC
Manager Press Conference Videos and Quotes: coming next week
Odds via Bet Fair: Chelsea win 4/6, Arsenal win 6/5
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Arsenal 2
Picking the Blues as we believe it will be Eden Hazard’s final match with the club, and a world-class player like that will be motivated to go out with a trophy.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.