Kick-off: 2000, 29/05/2019
Stadium: Baku Olympic Stadium
TV: BT Sport
Arsenal are rated a value pick to get the better of Chelsea in an all-English final of the Europa League in Azerbaijan.
There is little to choose between these teams on Premier League results, but the Gunners get our vote after a superb semi-final display by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
With that strike duo in such devastating form, 23/20 for Unai Emery’s side to lift the trophy is our initial Chelsea vs Arsenal prediction.
A Look At Chelsea’s Betting Odds
Chelsea prevailed 3-2 when hosting Arsenal at Stamford Bridge back in August and enjoyed a pretty smooth passage through to the last four of this competition.
The Blues dropped just two points in their group, before easing past Malmo, Dynamo Kiev and Slavia Prague with few hiccups.
However, Maurizio Sarri’s men were pushed all the way to penalties by Eintracht Frankfurt following a couple of 1-1 draws.
Frankfurt manager Adi Hutter gave an insight into how the Blues can still look shaky when the going gets tough, though.
He commented: “The Chelsea players were anxious, shouting at each other, and the Chelsea fans were nervous.”
Talismanic playmaker Eden Hazard netted the deciding spot-kick in London and the Blues have looked ever-more reliable on the Belgium star for moments of magic.
That could soon be an issue, with the 28-year-old expected to leave for Real Madrid this summer, while Sarri’s future has also been the cause of more distractions.
The Italian, who has been heavily linked with a switch to Juventus, appeared to storm out of training as the Blues took part in a full work-out at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
About an hour into the session, Sarri marched towards the tunnel and twice threw his baseball cap into the ground.
Another concern is that N’Golo Kante only has a 50 per cent chance of being fit after struggling to recover from a knee injury in time.
Looking at the Chelsea vs Arsenal odds, we think 2/1 for the Gunners to get the job done in normal time is another tempting price.
A Look At Arsenal’s Betting Odds
Arsenal have also shown plenty of frailties this season, particularly away from home, but facing familiar foes in a neutral venue in Baku shouldn’t hold any fears for them here.
Emery seemed reluctant to play Aubameyang and Lacazette together in the early stages of the season, but they have subsequently been allowed to forge a lethal strike partnership.
Like Chelsea, the Gunners also cruised through the pool stage with five wins and a draw, but they then had to survive a couple of scares in the knockout rounds.
Arsenal had to overcome first-leg deficits against both BATE Borisov and Rennes, before really clicking into top gear from the quarter-finals onwards.
Emery’s men beat a high-class Napoli side 3-0 on aggregate and then enjoyed impressive 3-1 and 4-2 victories versus Valencia, with Aubameyang and Lacazette sharing their last eight goals.
Few teams come away from big matches at the Mestalla with anything to show for their efforts, but Arsenal were awesome in tearing apart Emery’s former club.
The manager hailed his front pair as “amazing” after that display, also praising their willingness to work hard when Valencia had the ball.
Aubameyang is 9/2 to break the deadlock here and Lacazette 5/1.
Emery added: “I think we showed everybody our character, and also our capacity to be together.”
The Spaniard has the experience of leading Sevilla to a hat-trick of Europa League triumphs, while Arsenal can also take heart from a 2-0 defeat of Chelsea at Emirates Stadium in mid-January.
The Gunners have the added incentive of qualifying for next season’s Champions League if successful.
Granit Xhaka said: “We’ve been twice in a row in the Europa League and a club like Arsenal has to be in the Champions League.
“It’s an amazing and important game for us, because we want to give the club and the fans the Champions League back.”
Let’s finish off our Chelsea vs Arsenal betting tips by taking 21/2 for the Gunners to prevail 2-1 this time.
Emery has yet to decide whether retiring Petr Cech will make a farewell appearance against former club Chelsea.
The Czech goalkeeper has started every knockout match en route to the final in Baku, where Henrikh Mkhitaryan decided against travelling due to his country Armenia’s dispute with Azerbaijan.
Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding (both knee) are out, but Danny Welbeck is with the squad after sustaining a broken ankle in November.
Additional stats
Last Europa League result:
CHELSEA 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt – Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Valencia 2-4 ARSENAL – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3), Alexandre Lacazette
Head-to-head: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea, Chelsea 3-2 Arsenal, Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal, Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea, Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
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