Arsenal’s late winner over Manchester City two weeks ago fueled their conviction that they can break a 20-year title drought.
Mikel Arteta‘s men are second in the rankings, trailing north London rivals Tottenham only on goals scored, and will move first if they win on Saturday because Spurs are not in action until Monday.
The international break came at an inopportune time for Chelsea, who had just won back-to-back league games for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues have finally found their scoring touch, scoring six goals in victory against Fulham and Burnley, but Arsenal will be a much tougher test to see if Chelsea have truly turned the corner.
Chelsea have not beaten their London rivals at home in the league since 2018.
Pochettino will go a long way toward winning over the Stamford Bridge crowd after a difficult start to his reign, as well as doing his old team Spurs a favor at the top of the table, if he can halt that barren streak.
FULL EPL Fixtures For This Week (GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Liverpool v Everton (11:30), Bournemouth v Wolves, Brentford v Burnley, Manchester City v Brighton, Newcastle v Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest v Luton, Chelsea v Arsenal (16:30), Sheffield United v Manchester United (19:00)
Sunday
Aston Villa v West Ham (15:30)
Monday
Tottenham v Fulham (19:00)
