Chelsea will be looking to make it three straight wins over Arsenal when the pair lock horns at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
In addition to triumphing in last season's Europa League final, the Blues recorded a 2-1 victory when they travelled to the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League at the end of last month.
Both sides will enter this match off the back of disappointing results – Chelsea suffering a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United while Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Sheffield United on home soil.
Frank Lampard's side are still fourth in the Premier League table, though, while Arsenal sit down in 10th, 10 points behind their capital rivals heading into this game.
Both sides have had their issues this season, but there will still be a number of star names on display at Stamford Bridge. With that in mind, Sports Mole picks a combined XI from both squads, using only players available for Tuesday night's contest in London.
The goalkeeping spot in this particular XI is actually quite straightforward to pick when looking at the facts. Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive stopper of all time, but the Spaniard, somewhat surprisingly, has the worst save percentage in the Premier League this season, with just 55% of shots saved. Bernd Leno is up at 72%, though, and has impressed in a struggling Arsenal side. As a result, the six-time Germany international secures the position between the sticks.
Further forward, we have gone for a back three. It would be fair to say that neither side is particularly strong in defence and therefore finding the right mix of players was difficult. Antonio Rudiger sails into the XI as he is the most talented centre-back in both squads, while Chelsea teammate Cesar Azpilicueta is also included despite not having his best season thus far.
The final spot goes to Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who has had his fair share of criticism since arriving at the Emirates Stadium. The 31-year-old has contributed two goals in 18 Premier League appearances this term, though, and edges out the likes of David Luiz, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori.
We have gone for a midfield four ahead of the back three, meanwhile, and it is not too difficult to include Chelsea pair N'Golo Kante and Willian. Neither player has been at their best this season, but Kante is still one of the finest central midfielders in world football, while Willian has contributed five goals and five assists in all competitions at club level during the 2019-20 campaign.
Arsenal's Lucas Torreira deserves the other spot in the middle of the park having impressed since Mikel Arteta's arrival. The South American has not missed a Premier League game since the end of October and boasted a pass success rate of 84% against Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon. The final position in midfield goes to Bukayo Saka, who has made 20 appearances for the Gunners this season despite the fact that he is just 18 years old. The England Under-21 international has shown his versatility by playing as both an attacker and a left-back, and he deserves a spot in this side for his contribution.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored 16 goals this season, would have sailed into the side had he been available, but the Arsenal captain will miss out on Tuesday through suspension. As a result, Arsenal teammate Nicolas Pepe earns a spot in the final third. The big-money signing from Lille has found it difficult to settle in the Premier League thus far but his recent form has been much improved.
The final two positions go to Chelsea players in the shape of Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi. The former has scored 15 times in all competitions this season, including 13 in the Premier League having returned from a loan spell at Aston Villa. Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, has managed three goals and four assists in all competitions. The likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Mason Mount are certainly worth mentions, but Hudson-Odoi's running ability sees him earn a spot in this particular XI.
Matt Law
