Arsenal’s late winner against Manchester City two weeks ago has fuelled the Gunners’ belief that they can end a 20-year wait to win the title.
Mikel Arteta’s men are second in the rankings, trailing north London rivals Tottenham only on goals scored, and will move first if they win on Saturday because Spurs are not in action until Monday.
The international break came at an inopportune time for Chelsea, who had just won back-to-back league games for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Blues have finally found their scoring touch, scoring six goals in victory against Fulham and Burnley, but Arsenal will be a much tougher test to see if Chelsea have truly turned the corner.
Chelsea have not beaten their London rivals in the league at home since 2018.
Should he end that barren run, Pochettino will go a long way to winning over the Stamford Bridge crowd after a frustrating start to his reign and do his old club Spurs a favour at the top of the table.
FULL EPL Fixtures For This Week (GMT unless stated)
Saturday
Liverpool v Everton (11:30), Bournemouth v Wolves, Brentford v Burnley, Manchester City v Brighton, Newcastle v Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest v Luton, Chelsea v Arsenal (16:30), Sheffield United v Manchester United (19:00)
Sunday
Aston Villa v West Ham (15:30)
Monday
Tottenham v Fulham (19:00)