Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview & Live Score: EPL 2009-10

If you want to get the live score and updates of the match between Arsenal and Chelsea, then visit the following link:

Updates of Arsenal and Chelsea Match: 29 November 2009

Arsenal hosts Chelsea in a much-awaited match of English premier league on 29 November 2009 at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea has a 5-point lead at the top, while third placed Arsenal is behind the leaders by 8 points, though they played a game less than Chelsea. So, Arsenal will be looking to close the gap on Chelsea, picking up three points, while the West London club will try to increase the lead to 11 point over Arsenal. Chelsea has lost only 1 of their last five visits of Arsenal and they defeated the Gunners 4-1 at the Emirates last season after winning over the same opponent in the FA Cup.

Match: Arsenal vs Chelsea; English Premier League 2009-10

Date: 29 November 2009, Sunday

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England

Time: 16.00 GMT

Live on TV Channels: Sky Sports 1; Super Sports 3; ESPN

Arsenal has a number of injury blows to deal with. Gunners are already missing some of their best players including two in-form strikers Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner. Midfielder Abou Diaby and regular left back Gael Clichy are also out of action. The recent injury blow hit at Arsenal camp is Kieran Gibbs, who was deputizing for Clichy, as he has now been ruled out for 3 months after breaking a metatarsal in his left foot during last week’s 2-0 win over Standard Liege in Champions League. His injury has limited Wenger’s left back option to Armand Traore and experienced Mikael Silvestre. However, Traore is more likely to start against Chelsea.

Meanwhile, influential central midfielder William Gallas is also doubtful for Sunday’s high profile clash. The veteran sustained an eye injury after colliding with teammate Andrei Arshavin. However, manager Arsene Wenger is hopeful that both Gallas and Arshavin would be fit for the match against Chelsea.

New York Times reported:

"Gallas has an ankle problem and a swollen eye," said manager Arsene Wenger. "I think he will recover for Sunday, we hope so. It wasn't concussion but he couldn't see anymore because his eye was swollen.

"Arshavin has some staples in his head. He will be available for Sunday," he added.

So, you can see that Arsene Wenger do not have much options left to choose from for his attacking line up. Eduardo and Carlos Vela are the contenders for Arsenal’s forward line up, but the duo are not performing at their best at the moment. If Wenger decides to play one striker as he has been doing recently, then Eduardo is more likely to start, leaving Vela in the bench. In defense, Gallas (if fit) would pair up with Vermaelen, but in case he fails to recover from the eye injury in time, Philippe Senderos will be deputizing for Gallas. Sagna will occupy at the right back position as usual.

When it comes to midfield, Arsenal has a number of quality options, despite the absence of Diaby. Gunners have a holding midfielder like Song, while captain Cesc Fabregas and Arshavin play the create role. Nasri and Denilson are also there alongside Ramsey and Rosicky. Theo Walcott returned in action as he came from bench in the champions league win on Tuesday, but it is less likely that Wenger would feature the youngster in the starting eleven against Chelsea. Arsene Wenger has shown due respect for Chelsea, but remains confident of winning the game.

ESPN Soccernet reported:

"The only thing I would say with Theo is that every time I have rushed him back he has got injured again," he said. "This time, I have decided to take the time to get him completely 100% fit to come back.

"You know they are a good side and, to beat them, you have to deliver a good performance," he said. "It is more important we focus on what we do than any strength or weakness of Chelsea.

"They are a strong side and have a good manager in Carlo Ancelotti, but I still believe that despite all that, we can still beat them. Let us expect them to be strong on the day, and then let us be stronger."

Chelsea does not have as much injury problems as Arsenal has at the moment, but the Blues are also missing right back Jose Bosingwa. However, the good news for the Chelsea fans is that influential attacking midfielder Frank Lampard is all set to return to action with the Arsenal match.

Guardian reported:

"Frank is fit, yes," said Ancelotti after the England midfielder injured his thigh on international duty. "He trained for the last two days and did very well. He's in good condition. I think that our physio and our doctor worked very well with him. He is a fantastic professional player. He stayed to improve his condition for a long time in Cobham."

"He stayed one hour with the doctor for treatment and 80 hours – I don't know – in Cobham here to work," confirmed Ancelotti. "But it is a very important game because Arsenal are one of the most important teams in England and Europe.

So, Chelsea manager has also given his due respect to Wenger’s side as the Arsenal manager did the same for Chelsea, without gibing at each other in a traditional way before a high profile game. There is no doubt, Chelsea has a very strong squad in the presence of some of the world class players. More importantly, most of their players are playing at their best at the moment. Drogba and Anelka have formed a lethal combination up front, while the midfield features the likes of Michael Ballack, Michael Essien, Deco, Malouda, Joe Cole and John Obi Mikel. Moreover, Chelsea has a very strong central midfield in the presence of experienced defenders like John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. Ivanović is a quality player to deputize for Bosingwa, while Ashley Cole is doing very well in the left back position.

Online Live Score and Updates

Here, I am giving some live score and updates websites from where you can get the live score of this highly anticipated premier league game:

BBC Football

Live Score

Goal.com

Sportpress

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Arsenal seems to have the home advantage, but given their injury problems, it seems that Chelsea also has a very good chance in the match. It is true that both Chelsea and Arsenal have been playing spirited football so far this season and you can expect an entertaining affair between two big-four sides of premier league. Given Chelsea’s recent record, it seems that they have a very good chance, but the Blues should also know that Arsenal has been playing good football so far this season.