Sunday’s London derby between Chelsea and Arsenal is going to be huge for more than one reason.
Most significantly, it is a fixture that will see the top two Premier League teams go up against each other.
Arsenal are currently top of the table, while Chelsea trail them in second place by six points. Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice’s midfield battle is another reason why there is so much excitement surrounding this game.
Chelsea’s injury list ahead of Arsenal clash
Levi Colwill (knee)
Dario Essugo (thigh)
Cole Palmer (groin/foot)
Romeo Lavia (thigh)
Caicedo and Rice are both £100m midfielders who many now consider as the two best players in their position in football.
Moises Caicedo celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Liverpool in the Premier League.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Declan Rice explains the difference between his and Moises Caicedo’s roles at Arsenal and Chelsea
This season, there has been much debate surrounding who is the better midfielder out of Rice and Caicedo.
Rice, however, has downplayed comparisons, explaining that he and his Chelsea counterpart play in two completely different roles.
Speaking to CBS Sports after Arsenal’s win against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the 26-year-old said: “First and foremost, I have a lot of respect for Moises. I have played against him since the Brighton days, since I was at West Ham. I voted him last year in my PFA TOTY, I thought he was outstanding last year, and he has started this year incredibly well.
“There’s so much comparison, but we are playing different positions — he’s a full-blown six and I am more of a box-to-box eight.
“Sunday is going to be an interesting game, but the most important thing is I have a lot of respect for him as a player, like Roy [Keane] and Patrick [Vieira] did. It’s an exciting battle between us, and it’s one I’ll be ready for, for sure.”
Finish this sentence: Enzo Maresca should start ______ on the right wing vs Arsenal
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Plenty of pundits have also weighed in on the debate, including former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher.
While he does not think there is much to separate the two, Carragher believes Rice is better than Caicedo.
Arsenal's Declan Rice and Chelsea's Moises Caicedo talking
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How Declan Rice’s and Moises Caicedo’s stats compare ahead of Sunday’s showdown
This season, Caicedo is definitely winning the ball back more frequently than Rice, though that will partly be down to the fact that they are playing different roles, as Rice pointed out.
Right now, Caicedo is making 3.1 tackles per game in the Premier League, while Rice is only averaging 1.8. Despite being deployed in a deeper role than Rice, Caicedo has also scored one more goal than his upcoming opponent.
Player Games Goals Assists Key passes per game Tackles per game Interceptions per game Passes per game Pass success rate
Declan Rice 12 2 3 1.8 1.8 0.8 59 90.1%
Moises Caicedo 11 3 1 0.5 3.1 2.4 57.5 90.7%
Via Declan Rice’s WhoScored and Moises Caicedo’s WhoScored pages
All in all, it is close between Rice and Caicedo. But as a ball-winner, you really cannot look past Caicedo, regardless of whether his midfield role gives him more opportunities to make tackles than Rice’s. It is a debate that is going to rage on, with all eyes set to be on the two this Sunday.