#3 Alexis Sanchez vs David Luiz
To the surprise of almost everyone, David Luiz has been arguably Chelsea’s most consistent and confident defender this season. When the Brazilian returned to Stamford Bridge the past summer, not many had high expectations of him but in time, the Brazilian has proved all of his critics wrong. Most recently, he scored a brilliant goal against Liverpool and was aptly awarded the Man of the Match award in that game.
However, in this game, he will be up against one who no defender would currently like to face – Alexis Sanchez. With 15 goals (making him the joint-top scorer with Costa) and eight assists to his name. In fact, no player in the Premier League has been involved in more goals than Sanchez in the league and the Chilean is having a truly phenomenal season with the Gunners.
The 28-year-old has arguably been the best forward in the league this season and he assisted Arsenal’s only goal against Watford in his most recent outing. With his immense work rate and his great runs off the ball, Sanchez is a constant threat for any defence.
However, Luiz could be the immovable object that halts this unstoppable force. The Brazilian is taller than his fellow South American, better in the air and his pace means that he has a decent chance of marking and potentially stopping Sanchez in this game. Granted that it will be no easy task given how good Arsenal’s talisman has been, Luiz’s impressive stats which include 1.2 tackles and 5.4 clearances per game means that he just might be able to come out on top in this battle.
All in all, this game will be one worth watching and with so many individual encounters happening at the same time, Chelsea vs Arsenal promises to be a cracker that could very well decide the title race.
