Star Blues winger will start from the bench for the London Derby.
Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (Photo: AFP)
Chelsea vs Arsenal is the highlight Premier League fixture of Matchday 2 and the lineups for Saturday’s late kick off at Stamford Bridge have been revealed.
Here’s your Chelsea team to take on Arsenal! 💪 #CHEARS pic.twitter.com/wvXW4bBv6J
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 18, 2018
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Blues head coach Maurizio Sarri has named an unchanged XI from the one that beat Huddersfield Town 3-0 away.
That means Eden Hazard watches from the bench as Pedro, Willian and Alvaro Morata lead the hosts’ 4-3-3.
In the middle, Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Ross Barkley feature while it’s a four-man backline of Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso.
Kepa Arrizabalaga retains his place between the sticks.
One hour until kick-off ✅
Time for us to reveal our @premierleague team news… #CHEARS pic.twitter.com/tcUkgmsXc8
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 18, 2018
Unai Emery has made two changes to the side that lost to Manchester City, with Petr Cech starting in goal behind a four-man defence of Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and Hector Bellerin.
Granit Xhaka has retained his place in the midfield pivot alongside French teen Matteo Guendouzi, while Alex Iwobi gets the nod ahead of Aaron Ramsey on the left flank.
Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang complete the 4-2-3-1 formation.
Chelsea swamped the Terriers 3-0 in their opener and thus, will be favourites to clinch three points on their home turf against a side that struggled mightily on the road.
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Emery’s insistence on sticking with Xhaka might backfire spectacularly, but with the wealth of attacking options at his disposal, the Gunners can do something on the counter, but they remain the underdogs for the fixture at the Bridge.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Rudiger, Luiz, Azpilicueta (c), Jorginho, Kante, Barkley, Pedro, Willian and Morata.
Arsenal: Cech, Monreal, Sokratis, Mustafi, Bellerin, Guendouzi,Xhaka, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Ozil and Aubameyang.
Match kicks off at 2200 IST.
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