Chelsea take on Arsenal at The Emirates on Sunday afternoon, with Liam Rosenior’s side in need of a win, a win that would see Rosenior match a long-standing Tim Sherwood record.
Having failed to hold on to wins against Leeds and Burnley in their last two Premier League outings, Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League qualification are under threat. Sixth remains a real possibility.
When Rosenior took over, a place in the top five looked unlikely, but with four wins in his first four League games, hope was restored. England are likely to get five Champions League places come the summer.
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But Liverpool’s win over West Ham has pushed the Blues into sixth and only a win over Arsenal will see them return into the top five. If they do pull off a shock result, Rosenior will match Sherwood’s record.
The odds are against Rosenior in pursuit of Sherwood’s record
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton both expect Arsenal to record a win over Chelsea without conceding, but Paul Scholes has backed Chelsea to get a shock result at The Emirates. Rosenior desperately needs it.
Tim Sherwood as Tottenham gaffer.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Back in 2013-14, Sherwood took over at Tottenham and won his first three Premier League away games, beating Southampton, Swansea, and Man United. Rosenior is two from two since taking the Chelsea job.
Rosenior watched his side produce a solid performance at Crystal Palace to win 3-1, and then a hat-trick from Cole Palmer got the job done at Wolves. A win at Arsenal would see him match Sherwood’s record.
Statistically, he would become the first English manager to win his first three away games in the Premier League since Sherwood, if Rosenior and Chelsea can heed Scholes’ prediction and win a shock result.
The last time Chelsea managed to beat Arsenal away from home
It’s been five years since Chelsea beat Arsenal at The Emirates, and two current Chelsea players were in the squad. Indeed, one of them scored in Reece James, while Romelu Lukaku also netted in a 2-0 win.
The last time Chelsea beat Arsenal at The Emirates…
Can Chelsea manage a shock repeat?
Thomas Tuchel’s side got the better of an Arsenal side that lined up with a defence of Cedric Soares, Rob Holding, Pablo Mari and Kieran Tierney. They now play in Brazil, the MLS, Saudi Arabia and Scotland.
It says a lot about the improvement Arsenal have made both in terms of personnel, and the strength of Mikel Arteta’s defence. It will be interesting to see how Rosenior approaches today’s London derby,
Chelsea need to win and going about the game as he did in the second leg of the Carabao Cup will not go down well. Rosenior needs to hope Arsenal have an off day, and use the pressure of the title race.
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