Chelsea moved nine points clear of third-place Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with their recent draw at Anfield.
David Luiz opened the scoring with a wonderful free-kick that took everybody in the stadium – no-one more so than the unprepared Simon Mignolet – by surprise. Georginio Wijnaldum then levelled the score for the hosts mid-way through the second half, before Mignolet made up for his earlier mishap by saving a Diego Costa penalty to keep the scores level.
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While a draw wasn’t the best result for the league leaders, Arsenal’s surprise loss to struggling Watford on the same night meant that the Blues gained further ground on their London rivals. Arsenal, who had been in strong form, succumbed to defeat at the hands of Walter Materazzi’s side thanks to early goals from Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney.
Saturday, the pair go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge in a fixture that could prove to be pivotal as to where the title ends up come May. Here are three key battles to watch out for in this weekend’s upcoming face-off…
Alexis Sanchez vs. Marcos Alonso
While it is often hard to pin Alexis Sanchez to any one position, as the Chilean tends to operate in a free role ahead of the midfield, he’s spent much of his time recently on the right wing. This makes it more than likely Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso will be the man to try and keep him in his pocket for 90 minutes at the Bridge.
Both players have been in good form in their respective roles this term, so the clash between the pair should be interesting. Alonso has excelled so far this season at left wing-back for the Blues, but marking Sanchez will be his biggest challenge thus far.
Mesut Ozil vs. N’Golo Kante
Mesut Ozil has been excellent this season for the Gunners, scoring 11 goals and providing eight assists – unusual for the German playmaker, whose figures are usually heavily weighted the other way around. N’Golo Kante, on the other hand, may not have brilliant output like Ozil, but his importance should not be underestimated.
The two players are the polar opposite. Ozil is a creative force, while Kante is a midfield general of relentless energy. Two of the league’s most talented midfielders – each for their own reasons – set up for a interesting battle on Saturday.
Diego Costa vs. Laurent Koscielny
It was a frustrating set of mid-week fixtures for both of this pair. Diego Costa, while he didn’t play badly at all, struggled to break through Liverpool’s back line and missed the opportunity to give his side all three points with a late penalty, which was saved by Simon Mignolet. Laurent Koscielny, on the other hand, had a calamitous opening 15 minutes against Watford – leading to the Hornets claiming a 2-0 lead that Arsenal would not recover from.
Both the Spaniard and the Frenchman will be keen to prove a point this weekend.
