This weekend’s headliner fixture in the Premier League is a London derby at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea FC host Arsenal in a Sunday matinee match-up between two big clubs who found themselves falling short of their goals last season. Heading into this one, Chelsea are riding the momentum of having broken the record, for the most lopsided win in UEFA Europa Conference League history.
Yes, it was against a side so obscure that literally, when you Google them their club crest doesn’t even appear, but all you can do is beat the teams in front of you.
Chelsea vs Arsenal FC FYIs
Kickoff Time: 4.30 p.m. BST, 11.30 a.m. EST, Sunday, November 10
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Arsenal
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 34% Draw 27% Arsenal 39%
Premier League Standings: Chelsea 4th 18 pts Arsenal 5th 18 pts
And now that Noah got all this added publicity from getting routed by Chelsea, in a historical manner, maybe Google can figure out what their badge is, and starting including it in their SERPs. So without any further preamble, let’s get to the lineup prediction.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Arsenal
Robert Sanchez; Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella; Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo; Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto; Nicolas Jackson.
Prediction: Chelsea 2, Arsenal 1
The Conference League is the third tier competition, sure, and they made history for a format whose history only goes back to 2021, but hey, 8-0 is still 8-0, and that just shows you where the Blues are at right now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.