Match Preview
Arsenal v Chelsea
Freddie Ljungberg is expected to be ruled out of Arsenal's line-up for the third consecutive game with a heavy cold ahead of the game against Chelsea at Highbury.
Boss Arsene Wenger explained there is little chance of the Swede recovering in time because "he does everything 100 per cent and, when he is sick, he is 100 per cent sick".
Dennis Bergkamp is nevertheless hoping to return to the starting line-up after recovering from a knee injury, although Ray Parlour, Pascal Cygan and Edu are expected to still be out injured.
Reserve keeper Stuart Taylor has, meanwhile, been cleared to sit on the bench with a strapped broken finger.
Meanwhile, Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit is hoping for a recall against his former club.
At Leeds last weekend, Petit was one of seven players rested from the side that drew with Southampton on Boxing Day, with boss Claudio Ranieri admitting he had paid the price of "tinkering" too much after a 2-0 defeat.
The Chelsea manager is set to restore Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Mario Melchiot to the side, while Petit will contest the central midfield roles with Frank Lampard and Jody Morris.
Ranieri will also give a fitness test to keeper Carlo Cudicini (calf), while John Terry, Celestine Babayaro, Enrique de Lucas and Boudewijn Zenden are also hoping for recalls.
HEAD TO HEAD NOTES
Arsenal had to come from behind to win this corresponding fixture last season. Sol Campbell's first ever goal for the Gunners, early in the second half, cancelled out Frank Lampard's opener on the half hour. Sub Sylvain Wiltord got the winner 19 minutes from time.
The Gunners were also behind to a 25 yard bending free kick from Gianfranco Zola in this reverse fixture. The champions were reduced to ten men after Patrick Vieira's dismissal for two bookable offences. Even so Kola Toure poked home an equaliser ten minutes later. It was a deserved point in a scrappy game.
Arsenal hold an unbeaten home record against Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Gunners are undefeated in 12 home League games against their London rivals.
Chelsea's only win in 19 visits to Highbury spanning 25 years was 0-1 on 17 March, 1990 in the old Division One.
Arsenal's biggest win in this corresponding fixture was 5-2 on 16 April, 1979. Chelsea's biggest win in a League match at Arsenal was 1-4 on 12 November, 1960. Both matches were in the old League - Division One.
The last player to bag a hat trick in League fixtures between these clubs was Nwankwo Kanu. He scored all Arsenal's goals in the 2-3 Premiership win at Stamford Bridge on 23 October, 1999.
Teams:
Arsenal (from) : Seaman, Taylor, Cole, Lauren, Luzhny, Campbell, Keown, Upson, Stepanovs, Vieira, Gilberto, Pires, Wiltord, van Bronckhorst, Toure, Henry, Bergkamp, Kanu, Jeffers.
Chelsea (from) : De Goey, Cudicini, Pidgeley, Melchiot, Ferrer, Le Saux, Babayaro, Desailly, Gallas, Terry, Lampard, Petit, Morris, Stanic, de Lucas, Gronkjaer, Zenden, Hasselbaink, Zola, Gudjohnsen.
Referee: Uriah Rennie
Uriah Rennie wasn't the most popular of characters when he made his debut in the Premier League back in the 1999/00 season. His tendency to dish out cards and come up with unlikely decisions had some managers riled to say the least.
But now the 42-year-old community liaison manager back into the fold. His return brought a swift intake of breath from some managers, but Rennie performed to such a good standard in the Football League in his year out that the Premier League just had to include him in their list.
Rennie is now also a recognised FIFA official, and his biggest match to date came in 2001 when he took charge of the Division One play-off final between Bolton and Preston.
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