The early bird

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic is out to make amends for their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal back in September when they face the Gunners today.

The Premier League leaders put in an uninspired performance at the Emirates earlier this season, trailing to goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil after just 40 minutes.

But they have won 15 out of 17 Premier League games since to go top of the table, eight points clear of Arsene Wenger’s men in second.

Stamford Bridge hosts the return clash between the two sides on Saturday and Matic wants revenge for their heaviest defeat of the campaign.

“You can lose a game but the most important thing is how you react and in that game against Arsenal, we did not react on the pitch well. I am sure it will be a different story on Saturday,” Matic told The Evening Standard.
Bad day
“We lost the last game 3-0 and when you lose a match like that playing for this kind of club, it is very hard to accept. It is unusual for us to lose without a fight. But at that moment against Arsenal, we had a bad day and they played well.

“I hoped it was going to be a wake-up call for us and it was. After that match we won 13 games in a row. Sometimes you have to lose a game to wake up and I am sure we will not allow any more defeats like that one.

You can lose a game but not in that way. “Are we looking forward to this game even more to put things right? Of course. We want to see where we are and where they are. We will try to win because we are at home.

“They also have qualities and will try to find opportunities. But I am sure that we are ready, mentally and physically, and I am sure the supporters will enjoy this game.”

Match facts
Heaviest. Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in September was their heaviest against them since April 1997 (also 3-0). They were previously unbeaten in nine Premier League games against Arsenal.

Special? The last Chelsea manager to fail to win either of his first two league games against the Gunners was Jose Mourinho in 2004/05, while the last Chelsea boss to lose both was Glenn Hoddle in 1993/94.

Success. Chelsea have won eight successive EPL home games – their best run in the competition since a sequence of 10 wins that ended in January 2015. The aggregate score in these eight games is 24-3 in Chelsea’s favour.

Newsmaker. Diego Costa has scored in two of his four EPL games against Arsenal and been booked in two others.

Luckless run. Arsenal have not done the double over Chelsea in the same season since 2003/04 - the season in which they last won the Premier League.

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Chelsea XI: (3-4-3)
Courtois, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Kante, Matic, Moses, Hazard, Costa, Pedro,
Arsenal XI: (4-2-3-1)
Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez,

ENGLISH PREMIERSHIP - TODAY
Chelsea vs. Arsenal (SS3/11, 3.30PM)
Hull vs. Liverpool (SS3/11, 6PM)
Southampton vs. West Ham (SS5, 6PM)
Everton vs. Bournemouth (SS6, 6PM)
Palace vs. Sunderland (SS7, 6PM)
Watford vs. Burnley (SS9, 6PM)
Tottenham vs. M’brough (SS3/11, 8.30PM)
TOMORROW
Man City vs. Swansea (SS3/11, 4.30PM)
Leicester vs. Man Utd (SS3/11, 7PM)