Arsenal vs. Chelsea punting tips and bookie bonuses, EPL week 6

Sunday, September 25 from 2.30am AEST at Emirates Stadium, London.

Table position:
Arsenal: Fourth
Chelsea: Fifth

Season record:
Arsenal: 3-1-1
Chelsea: 3-1-1

Win Draw Win odds:
Arsenal: $2.40 with WilliamHill.com.au
Draw: $2.50 with WilliamHill.com.au
Chelsea: $2.80 with WilliamHill.com.au

TWO bitter rivals separated only by goal difference go head to head in a battle that has epic written all over it.

The calls for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s sacking intensified with the Gunners slow start to the season, but they have kicked into gear with three wins on the trot to leap back up the table.

Chelsea under new manager Antonio Conte kicked off their season with a bang, reeling off three straight wins, but have slowed down with a loss to Liverpool and a draw at Swansea City.

The Gunners pulverised Hull City on the weekend, making it three wins from their last three with a dominant 4-1 dismantling away from home.

Theo Walcott was one of the strikers, but it was a dominant performance from Alexis Sanchez that stood out.

The Chilean, tasked with leading the Gunners attacking line, was in absolutely everything, firing in a brace that should have been a hat trick, had he not missed a penalty in between his two strikes.

The in form Sanchez is our pick to score the first goal in this game and you will get $7 odds on that from our friends at WilliamHill.com.au.

His brace on the weekend gave him four on the season and you would expect that he will again be the focal point of the Arsenal attack.

One man who might be worth a flutter on is off season signing Granit Xhaka.

While he has only played a full game in one of his four appearances for Arsenal, the star midfielder found his feet against Hull with a bang, firing in an early contender for goal of the season.

Xhaka’s long range strike in injury time was the cream on top of a brilliant Arsenal win, but he showed it was no fluke mid week when he scored another scorcher against Nottingham Forest in the Gunners’ 4-1 League Cup victory.

The Arsenal faithful have touted him as a future captain, which is high praise from a fan base that is never easy to impress.

When you do things like that, it’s easy to get on board and, given that he is $21 with WilliamHill.com.au, you could do worse than back him to do it for a third straight game.

Chelsea has had a remarkable run against Arsenal, having not conceded a goal in its last six Premier League outings, dating back to 2013. The last time the Gunners beat Chelsea in Premier League play was way back in October 2011.

The Gunners have not beaten them in any of those games, conceding 11 goals, including a 6-0 thrashing

But Chelsea had a different manager then, the indomitable Jose Mourinho and Wenger will be on point against the Pensioners with his arch nemesis out of the picture.

It’s time for the Gunners to break out of their hoodoo against Chelsea and continue their hot streak in the Premier League this season.

After struggling to a 2-2 draw at Swansea City a fortnight ago, they allowed Liverpool to come into their home and take away all three points in a 2-1 loss.

Their only highlight this season has been the form of Diego Costa, who has fired in five goals already this year to be the joint leader in the Golden Boot award with West Ham’s Michail Antonio.

First goal scorer tips begin and end with this man, who is $6 with WilliamHill.com.au, but if you are looking for some gaudier odds, you might have a sniff of midfield Rock of Gibraltar Nemanja Matic, who has been finding himself in more advanced positions in recent games.

Possible teams

Arsenal: Petr CECH, Hector BELLERÍN,Shkodran MUSTAFI, Laurent KOSCIELNY, Nacho MONREAL, Francis COQUELIN, Santi CAZORLA, Theo WALCOTT, Mesut OZIL, Alex IWOBI, Alexis SÁNCHEZ

Chelsea: Thibaut COURTOIS, Branislav IVANOVIC, David LUIZ, Gary CAHILL, Cesar AZPILICUETA, N’Golo KANTÉ, WILLIAN, OSCAR, Nemanja MATIC, Eden HAZARD, Diego COSTA

First goal scorer predictions

Arsenal:

Alexis Sanchez ($7 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Smokey: Granit Xhaka ($21 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Chelsea:

Diego Costa ($6 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Smokey: Nemanja Matic ($21 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Match predictions

Match result: Arsenal wins ($2.40 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Match correct score: Arsenal wins 2-1 ($9 with WilliamHill.com.au)

Total match goals: Over 2.5 goals ($1.70 with WilliamHill.com.au)

If you go on the form and home ground advantage, then Arsenal has to be the pick. The Gunners have gone up a cog since their ordinary start to the season – do they ever start well? – while Chelsea has just stunted slightly in the past couple of weeks. This is an intriguing battle between two very classy midfields that possess plenty of attacking prowess. Chelsea’s stars like Hazard, Oscar and company have been providing superb supply for the rejuvenated Diego Costa, while the Gooners have been sharing the love, getting plenty of contribution from their new men Xhaka and Mustafi. This is one that you will want to hit the sack early and set the alarm, or pull an all-nighter. It’s going to be huge. We give the Gunners the edge at Emirates Stadium by a one goal margin.