Blues, Gunners to go toe-to-toe

BIG LONDON DERBY: EMERY, SARRI ON COLLISION COURSE

No De Bruyne, but Huddersfield unlikely to trouble Pep’s City.

London

Chelsea and Arsenal’s new regimes under Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery got off to contrasting Premier League starts, but today’s clash between the two will provide a truer test of where the London rivals stand.

Failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League provoked big changes at both clubs.

But while Chelsea are used to the upheaval of managers coming and going under Roman Abramovich, Arsenal are still settling into Emery’s new era after 22 years with Arsene Wenger in charge.

The early signs suggest it will take Emery time to stem years of decline towards the end of Wenger’s reign.

However, the Spaniard had the misfortune to face champions Manchester City on his Premier League debut as Arsenal were outclassed in a 2-0 defeat on home soil last weekend.

But, despite a disrupted pre-season due to Sarri’s late arrival to replace Antonio Conte, the departure of Thibaut Courtois and speculation over a host of other key players, Chelsea were too good for Huddersfield in a 3-0 win last Saturday.

There were already clear hallmarks of Sarri’s influence as Jorginho, who followed his boss from Napoli to Chelsea in the summer, controlled the midfield.

Chelsea are likely to be even stronger this weekend as Eden Hazard could return to the starting line-up after he shone in a 15-minute cameo at Huddersfield following his World Cup exertions with Belgium.

City’s victory at Arsenal without ever hitting top gear last weekend was ominous for the challengers trying to stop Pep Guardiola’s men becoming the first side in a decade to retain the title.

But City were dealt a huge blow when Kevin de Bruyne suffered a serious knee injury in training on Wednesday. The club confirmed yesterday the Belgian will be sidelined for three months.

If any squad is equipped to deal without a world-class talent like De Bruyne, it is probably the one at Guardiola’s disposal.

Bernardo Silva starred against Arsenal and Chelsea in the Community Shield from a more central role with new signing Riyad Mahrez starting on the right.

David Silva is yet to play a minute this season and 18-year-old Phil Foden has been tipped to be given his chance in De Bruyne’s absence. – Manchester City v Huddersfield, Burnley v Watford, Brighton v Manchester United] Monday: Crystal Palace v Liverpool