Arsenal’s late winner against Manchester City two weeks ago has fuelled the Gunners’ belief that they can end a 20-year wait to win the title.
Mikel Arteta’s men are second, behind north London rivals Tottenham only on goals scored, and will end Saturday top of the table if they win because Spurs are not in action until Monday.
The international break came at the wrong time for Chelsea after they posted back-to-back league wins under Mauricio Pochettino for the first time.
The Blues have finally found their scoring touch, netting six times in victories against Fulham and Burnley, but Arsenal will provide a much sterner test of whether Chelsea really have turned the corner.
Chelsea have not beaten their London rivals in the league at home since 2018.
Should he end that barren run, Pochettino will go a long way to winning over the Stamford Bridge crowd after a frustrating start to his reign and do his old club Spurs a favour at the top of the table.
FULL EPL Fixtures For This Week (GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Liverpool v Everton (11:30), Bournemouth v Wolves, Brentford v Burnley, Manchester City v Brighton, Newcastle v Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest v Luton, Chelsea v Arsenal (16:30), Sheffield United v Manchester United (19:00)
Sunday
Aston Villa v West Ham (15:30)
Monday
Tottenham v Fulham (19:00)
