Romelu Lukaku will look to inflict more pain on wounded Arsenal when he makes his second Chelsea debut on Sunday.
Lukaku is set to be unleashed on the Gunners for a Premier League return at the Emirates Stadium after completing a record £97.5million (€115m) move from Inter.
The Belgium striker played a massive part in Inter's Serie A triumph last season and is back at Stamford Bridge hunting more trophies.
While Chelsea started their Premier League season with an emphatic 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, the Gunners suffered a 2-0 derby defeat to newly promoted Brentford.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform previews the big showdown in North London, with the Blues out for revenge after Arsenal did the double over them last season.
LUKAKU CAN FIRE AGAINST GUNNERS DESPITE POOR RECORD
Lukaku is relishing the challenge of taking the Blues' supposedly cursed number nine shirt.
If his record against Arsenal is anything to go by, a debut goal may be unlikely for the prolific frontman.
The former Everton and Manchester United striker has scored only twice in 15 Premier League appearances versus with Gunners, although he returns to England seemingly at another level.
Lukaku terrorised defences in Serie A and has been consistently outstanding at international level, the Red Devils' all-time leading goalscorer netting four times in five Euro 2020 games
Brentford exposed Arsenal's defensive frailties in the first game of the season and Lukaku could cause them all sorts of problems.
WERNER COULD CASH IN
Timo Werner came in for plenty of criticism for poor finishing in his first season in England, although the Germany international's pace and intelligent movement still made him a real handful.
Thomas Tuchel said Lukaku's arrival is good news for Werner, whose 29 touches in the win over Palace was the fewest by any Chelsea outfield player.
The presence of the powerhouse Lukaku and his ability to hold the ball up can help Werner thrive this season if they are both given the nod from the start.
Werner scored only six Premier League goals last season and provided eight assists, missing 18 of what were deemed by Opta to be big chances and falling short of the 11.5 expected goals (xG) tally.
He should not be short of opportunities with Lukaku leading the line and can silence any critics in the 2021-21 campaign.
GUNNERS NEED A CUTTING EDGE
Arsenal have only been beaten in three of their past 14 meetings with Chelsea but they will have to show a marked improvement from a lacklustre display against the Bees.
Strike duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were absent for that loss, with the club confirming on Thursday both players had tested positive for coronavirus.
Lacazette will not face the Blues and Aubameyang is to be assessed ahead of the game.
Mikel Arteta's side played 15 Premier League games without at least one of Aubameyang or Lacazette - both linked with moves ahead of the transfer deadline - last season, winning nine, drawing four and losing two.
With the pair both in action, they won nine of 23 matches, lost 11 and drew three.
Folarin Balogun failed to hit the target with his three shots in his first Premier League start at Brentford, with Nicolas Pepe only testing David Raya once with his four attempts.
Arsenal must show more of a cutting edge if they are to get one over on their London rivals again and Chelsea will be wary of Kieran Tierney, who created six chances against the Bees.
Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown.
It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.
They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly.
Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
"But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title.
"Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."
Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.
He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire].
"We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title.
"Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."
Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.
Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.
"Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us.
"It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club.
"It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt.
"But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
Gallagher insists Chelsea players are fighting for the shirt after Arsenal collapse
Conor Gallagher insists Chelsea's players are putting in the required effort amid fierce fan criticism in the aftermath of Tuesday's 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Chelsea's miserable first season under Mauricio Pochettino took another turn for the worse at the Emirates Stadium as they were put to the sword by Mikel Arteta's title contenders.
The Gunners racked up 27 shots at goal as they recorded their biggest ever victory over Chelsea, who looked devoid of inspiration with leading goalscorer Cole Palmer sidelined due to illness.
During the game, one disgruntled travelling fan held up a banner which read: "I don't want your shirt, I just want you to fight for ours".
The charge that Chelsea are not fighting for results was put to Gallagher by TNT Sports after the game, and the Blues' stand-in captain denied that was the case.
"We definitely are putting the effort in," Gallagher said. "I know how much it means to all the boys. It's a very young squad with not much experience as a team in the Premier League.
"This season we've had a lot of ups and downs. We're still improving and working as a team to get to that next level.
"Today was one of those days where we were nowhere near it and we need to dust ourselves off, look at the performance, where we can improve and all the mistakes we made."
The defeat means Chelsea remain ninth in the Premier League table, three points adrift of sixth-placed Newcastle United and Manchester United in seventh, with both of those teams in action on Wednesday.
Pochettino's men face another daunting task on Saturday when they travel to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, before hosting Tottenham in another London derby next Thursday.
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