For much of the past twenty years or so, London has been Blue. More recently, our color has faded away. But the battle for London supremacy resumes in earnest this Sunday, as Chelsea take on Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Blue versus Red, as classic as it gets.

At the quarter-mark of the season, the two teams are separated by just goal difference. The winner will head into the final international break of the season perhaps as high as third. If that can be us, we would solidify our credentials as true top-four contenders in this third season under new ownership.

Since winning the 2019 Europa League final, 4-1, Chelsea have beaten Arsenal just once in eleven competitive tries, and not once since 2021.

Date / Time: Sunday, November 10, 2024; 16.30 GMT; 11:30am EST; 10pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Michael Oliver (on pitch); Paul Tierney (VAR)
Forecast: Cloudy with a chance of frustration

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); USA, Telemundo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK), NBC Sports Live, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

Chelsea team news: Chelsea have had a very good fitness record so far this season, thanks in part to Enzo Maresca’s strict rotation policy between weekend and midweek fixtures, and we have just one or two potential absentees for this massive showdown as well. Unfortunately, one of those potential absentees is Cole Palmer, who got kicked in the knee last weekend and has not been able to train all week (adding the literal injury to the insult of Lisandro Martínez not even getting a red card for that … “tackle”). Jadon Sancho is the other potential absentee; he’s been out with a combination of illness, injury, and ineligibility for the past couple weeks.

Since a 2-0 defeat here against Brentford twelve months ago, we have lost just two games at Stamford Bridge, in any competition. In the current season, we have six wins and two draws since the opening day defeat against Manchester City. (And those two draws really should’ve been wins as well.) Keep building that fortress brick by brick.

Arsenal team news: After a hot start that had them in the early title-challenge conversation, Arsenal have collected just one point from their last three league games, losing their last two away, against Bournemouth and Newcastle without even scoring a goal. They’re not doing much better in all competitions either, with their only two wins in their last six, against Shakhtar Donetsk and Preston North End.

Compounding their poor run of results have been the various injuries suffered by some of their key players, though they are looking healthier at the moment than in recent weeks. Martin Ødegaard has recently returned from a lengthy absence while Kai Havertz has been cleared to play after a blow to the head midweek. Declan Rice will be a gametime decision with a toe injury. Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney remain out while Raheem Sterling is ineligible to play against us.

Then again, there’s nothing like a derby to bust out of a slump.

View from the enemy: The Short Fuse

Previously: As mentioned at the top, our recent record against Arsenal is nothing short of horrendous. We let a 2-0 lead slip in this fixture last season; that did end a three-match losing streak in this matchup, though we then followed that up with a 5-0(!) defeat at the Emirates in April. So, lots of demons to exorcise in this one.