Chelsea vs Arsenal Expert Football Betting Tips: Value Bets, OPTA Stats and Team News

We bring you Chelsea vs Arsenal expert tips as these teams gear up for a heated clash at Stamford Bridge. The Gunners are amongst the contenders for the Premier League title once against and they will want to continue their winning run against their London rivals.

Arteta’s team secured a win over Manchester City in their last match. Chelsea also went into the international break with a win, the first time that has happened in 19 months.

Here you’ll find expert football betting tips for Chelsea vs Arsenal from bettingexpert author, Scott Thornton, as well as OPTA stats, match facts, value bets, and everything in between.

Chelsea vs Arsenal: Expert Football Betting Tips

• Bettingexpert’s Value Bet: Over 2 Cards For Chelsea
• Longshot Expert Bet Tip: Enzo Fernandez To Be Carded

Odds via bet365, Paddy Power and Betfair as at 09:00, October 19th, 2023. Odds may now differ.

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Bettingexpert’s Value Bet: Over 2 Cards For Chelsea

England, Premier League, October 21st, 17:30 (UK)

Chelsea host Arsenal this weekend, and it promises to be a hard-fought contest. The Blues have won their last three competitive matches, and Mauricio Pochettino’s chopping and changing appears to have paid dividends. The Blue trimmed down their bloated squad over the summer, but the slow start left the manager pondering his best eleven. They face a stern test when they take on the Gunners.

Arteta’s side were Manchester City’s closest competitors last season, and they laid down a marker by beating Pep Guardiola’s side prior to the international break. They’ve made an unbeaten start to the season and are behind Tottenham, the Premier League leaders, on only goal difference.

The Blues have lost their last three matches against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. They will be keen to peg their rivals back here, and I’m predicting a feisty affair. Chelsea have picked up three cards in three of their four home matches in the league so far. They picked up two against Luton despite dominating possession and recording a 3-0 victory. Pochettino’s side are averaging 3.5 cards per game, the 4th most in the division.

Arsenal forced five Chelsea cards in this fixture last season, and the average number of cards per game in the Premier League has increased significantly in this campaign. Last season’s matches saw an average of 3.77 cards per game. That has risen to 5.25 since the start of this season, with referees clamping down on time-wasting and dissent.

Manchester City had three cards in Arsenal’s last match. The Gunners recently faced another of their London rivals, and Tottenham had four yellow cards in that fixture.

• Bettingexpert’s Value Bet: Over 2 Cards For Chelsea (TRACKED BET)
• Best Odds: 1.90
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 8/10

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Bettingexpert’s Longshot Expert Bet Tip: Enzo Fernandez To be Carded

We are sticking with cards for our longer odds bet in this match, and there are a couple of standout players in the Chelsea ranks.

Last season was a season to forget for Chelsea, with three different managers steering them towards a 12th-place finish. However, they were able to rebuild their squad by being extremely proactive in the transfer market. The Blues have several players that could star for years to come, and their new-look midfield will be in the spotlight here.

Two of Chelsea’s midfielders were bought for upwards of £100m, and they will be tasked with gaining control of the middle of the park here. Arsenal are used to dominating possession, but the Blues won’t shy from the physical side of the game, making their central players prime candidates for yellow cards.

Enzo Fernandez is one of the hottest prospects in football, but he hasn’t enjoyed a flying start since making the switch to Chelsea from Benfica. The Argentine international has an exceptional range of passing, but he is no stranger to the dark arts. The World Cup winner loves to get stuck in, and he has already picked up three yellow cards for his club this season.

Pochettino has experimented by using Fernandez in a more advanced role at times this season, but he appears to have settled on using him as a box-to-box midfield who can pick the ball up in deeper areas in recent matches. He played this role expertly well in Chelsea’s last match at Turf Moor. He had 105 touches and made three tackles. The Argentine played the full 90 minutes despite being booked in the 27th minute, so expect him to be in amongst the action again.

• Bettingexpert’s Longshot Expert Bet Tip: Enzo Fernandez To Be Carded
• Best Odds: 3.30
• Bookmaker: Paddy Power/Betfair
• Stake: 4/10

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Chelsea vs Arsenal Team News: A Saka appearance could prove key

Chelsea have a few players ruled out for this one. Ben Chilwell remains absent, and Pochettino won’t be able to call upon Christopher Nkunku until the end of the season. Reece James faces a late fitness test ahead of the match. Armando Broja was also sent home on international duty and is unlikely to feature here, but Nicolas Jackson should be available for selection.

Bukayo Saka missed the win over Manchester City, but he could return to the starting eleven here after initially going on England duty before being sent home without playing a part. William Saliba could also return to the Arsenal squad here. Jurrien Timber is Arsenal’s only long-term injury after he came off during his debut for the club.

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Chelsea vs Arsenal Powered by OPTA Stats: Not quite Guardiola or Dalglish – not yet

• Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 15 league London derbies (W11 D4), the third-longest such run in Premier League history after Chelsea (20 between 2004 and 2006) and the Gunners themselves (35 between 2001 and 2005).
• Chelsea have lost five of their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (W1), as many defeats as they’d suffered in their previous 25 against them (W14 D6).
• As well as being one of two teams still unbeaten in the Premier League this season (W6 D2), no side has kept more clean sheets (4) or conceded fewer goals (6) than Arsenal in the division this term. Meanwhile, Chelsea have netted more goals in their last two league games (6) than they had in their first six this season (5).
• Mikel Arteta has won five of his eight Premier League games against Chelsea (62.5% – D1 L2). Of all managers to take charge of more than five against them, only Kenny Dalglish (76.9%) and Pep Guardiola (64.3%) have a higher win rate against the Blues than the Arsenal boss.
• Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard has applied more pressures (closing down an opposing player while out of possession) than any other player in the Premier League this season (253), while he’s also the only player to have made 100+ in both the middle third (111) and attacking third (112).

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