Arsenal could have the upper hand in the race for the Premier League title as London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur continue their Champions League campaigns. The Gunners are one of only three clubs, along with Bayern Munich and Inter, to have a perfect league record, while clubs from the capital have fared less well.
Tottenham remain unbeaten in the competition this season, joining Manchester City and the aforementioned trio. However, all of their away matches so far have been draws, with the match against Bodo/Glimt 2-2 and the match against Monaco 0-0. Spurs won both games at home, against Villarreal 1-0 and Copenhagen 4-0, and are currently 10th in the table. Chelsea are 1 point behind and 2nd place behind.
Like Tottenham, the Blues have a perfect record, having beaten Benfica 1-0 and Ajax 5-1 at home. However, while Bayern won 3-1 in Munich, Chelsea are yet to secure an away win, having to draw 2-2 with Qarabag in their last meeting.
At the midway point of the league phase, both clubs will earn a playoff spot in the knockout phase, albeit as seeded teams. If they stay between 9th and 24th, they will face back-to-back matches in February, just like City did last season.
Coincidentally, that is the month Arsenal will play both teams for the last time this season. They will travel to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the weekend of February 21st before hosting Chelsea the following week.
The first leg of the knockout phase play-offs is scheduled to begin in the week commencing February 16, just days before the Gunners face Spurs. The second leg is scheduled to start on February 23rd.
According to Opta analysts, Chelsea have a nearly 69 per cent chance of progressing into the knockout stages, while Tottenham’s chances are just over 71 per cent. However, Arsenal have the lowest chance, at just under 2%.
This shows that it is highly unlikely that the Gunners will need the play-offs. The prospect of their London rivals competing for a place in the last 16 ahead of the league game could be a welcome boost for Arsenal.
Chelsea will host Barcelona at Stamford Bridge later this month, before traveling to Atalanta in December. They then welcome Paphos in January and finish their league campaign in Italy against Napoli.
Spurs’ next European game is an away game against Paris Saint-Germain, before a home match against Slavia Prague next month. Borussia Dortmund will visit them before heading to Eintracht Frankfurt in the new year.
Arsenal are scheduled to host Bayern by the end of November before traveling to Club Brugge for their final Champions League game of the year. Inter will be our first opponent in January, followed by a home game against Kairat.
