Preview: Arsenal vs Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

The reigning champions meet the assigned closest challengers in Sunday's Premier League main event, which sees Arsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium for a mouth-watering London derby.

Neither side has slipped up in any competition yet this season, but at least one 100% record will cease to exist when Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso shake hands.

Match preview

On-field elation and off-field exasperation has been the theme for Arsenal since the new campaign kicked off, as a gritty 1-0 triumph over Aston Villa on August 31 was soon overshadowed by an activity-less transfer deadline day.

While Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta sanctioned multiple attacking exits - Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri and new record sale Gabriel Martinelli - not a single reinforcement arrived on September 1, as the Gunners failed to seduce Julian Alvarez into a U-turn and opted not to firm up their interest in Malick Fofana.

One all-too common injury in the final third now has the potential to derail Arsenal's title defence - at least in the eyes of glass-half-empty Gooners - but three wins, three clean sheets and seven goals from the current crop is hardly bad going.

However, three is both a crowd and a collector's item for Arsenal, who have only won their first three matches of a Premier League season once in the last 21 years - that streak came in the 2022-23 campaign.

Capital clashes have been the hosts' forte in recent years, though, as Arsenal have avoided defeat in each of their last 16 Premier League London derbies, earning 12 victories and playing our four stalemates.

At the opposite end of the perfection scale, Chelsea's unblemished record in 2026-27 thus far has been built on an astounding attack rather than a diligent defence, evidenced by a league-high 12 goals being scored in the Blues' two outings.

Chelsea's unmissable 4-3 success over Brighton & Hove Albion belongs in the 'Prime Barclays' category, as Xabi Alonso's men raced into a 3-0 lead, were pegged back to 3-2, restored a two-goal advantage and survived an injury-time scare to prevail.

Only goal difference is keeping the visitors below Arsenal in the Premier League table at the time of writing, and Chelsea could now win their opening four games of a season in all tournaments for the first time since 2016-17 - Antonio Conte's title-winning campaign.

Fast starts have been key to the Blues' success so far, as Alonso's men are just the second Premier League team in history to score in the first four minutes of their opening two games of a season, following in the footsteps of the 2002-03 Bolton Wanderers unit.

However, Chelsea have been bested in each of their last three matches against Arsenal, who have gone over five years without suffering defeat to their London rivals, last ending up on the wrong end of the scoreline in August 2021.

Arsenal Premier League form:

Arsenal form (all competitions):

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

The champions' success at Villa Park did come at a cost, as both Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera were forced off before the end, and the latter was missing from Arsenal training on Thursday alongside Bruno Guimaraes.

Mosquera's concern should open the door for Ezri Konsa to make his full debut in the heart of defence, but Rice was observed on the practice pitches during the week and is expected to be given the green light.

Jurrien Timber (groin) is back in individual training but will not be ready for the London derby, and the same goes for William Saliba, likely to spend months more out with a back problem.

On Chelsea's end, the £125m sale of Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City - while inevitable - was untimely, as Moises Caicedo aggravated a previous injury in the win over Brighton and is not guaranteed to feature on Sunday.

The clash with the champions should have marked Lamine Camara's likely debut date, but after Monaco astonishingly pulled the plug on the midfielder's transfer - leaving Chelsea seething - Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia could hold the fort in the engine room again.

Jordan Henderson (wrist) and Marco Palestra (unspecified) are also out of contention for Chelsea, whose talisman Cole Palmer could bag his 50th Premier League Blues goal on his 99th appearance this weekend.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Lacroix, Colwill, Fofana; James, Gusto, Lavia, Hato; Rogers, Palmer; Pedro

We say: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

If there was ever a match that screamed defence vs. attack, Arsenal vs. Chelsea is the dictionary definition, and the Gunners' perfect rearguard record in 2026-27 is surely destined to end on Sunday.

The hosts have undoubtedly left themselves too light in attack, but with a clean bill of health in the final third - for now - Arteta's side still have our vote to expose Chelsea's defensive vulnerabilities and pass the first major test of their title credentials.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.