Chelsea against Arsenal

Foul by Ljungberg on Makelele as Chelsea try to break

Ljungberg shapes to shoot but is up-ended by Terry

Pires knocks it in and Chelsea defend, but it is not cleared far and Arsenal build from the throw in

Henry wins a corner for Arsenal - and they won't be rushing to take it

Clichy gets the ball to Edu, who passes to Lauren and he to Gilberto as the Gunners play keep-ball

Lampard launches a long ball toward Hasselbaink, but he is outnumbered and Lehmann comes off his line to clear

Hasselbaink tries to hassle the keeper, but without success. Jimmy thought Lehmann was wasting time

Lehmann gets to the ball just ahead of Hasselbaink but has taken a knock in the process.

No sign of Jose Reyes, which is a shame for thefans who are keen to see more of the exciting Spaniard

Pires takes a tumble in the penalty area and the ref ignores it - if it wasn't foul, why wasn't it a booking for the Frenchman's acrobatics?

Hasselbaink wins a corner and takes it himself - but this time Melchiot is penalised for a foul

Last ten minutes. Is it the last ten minutes of Chelsea's title dream?

Ljungberg heads the ball into the net, but the refs has blown for a foul in the build up by Vieira on Melchiot

Sullivan again denies Gilberto after the freekick was taken quickly - Corner ball

Lampard gets a booking for a rash tackle on Edu - frustration creeping in

Change for Arsenal - off goes Bergkamp and in his place Ljungberg

But they can't make use of it and Arsenal are back in possession

However, sloppy play by Campbell gives Chelsea a corner they didn't deserve

Chelsea are being made to pay for being a man down, with Arsenal making the advantage pay!

Gilberto tries his luck with a shot, but Sullivan saves

Vieira has rejoined the games and seems ok, but not 100%

Changes for Chelsea as Mutu leaves the game to be replaced by Hasselbaink, and Joe Cole also joins the fray for Geremi

Pires has it and feesd it to Henry - the ball is worked to Lauren, but Mutu brings a halt to proceedings with a foul

Foul on Makelele by Bergkamp in the centre of the pitch

Geremi whips in a low ball, but Lehmann gathers

Play resumes after treatment to the Arsenal skipper

Another crunching tackle stops the Arsenal artistry, and gets a yellow card for collapsing Vieira, who looks none-too comfortable

Vieira to Bergkamp, but after a string of 20 passes a full-blooded Terry tackle stops the flow

Arsenal keepning the ball finally - Gilberto plays it back and the defenders work it wide to Pires

Henry again, this time wide on the right, jinks past two and slips a ball inside to Pires

Henry picks the ball up and moves forward, but Terry makes a tackle on the edge of the box to prevent the Frenchman from shooting

A change for Chelsea: Parker, on his home debut, is brought of to applause to be repleced by Gronkjaer

So Chelsea down to 10 men after Gudjohnsen needlessly spoils his afternoon and Chelsea's chances of a result

Clichy tackles Gudjohnsen and breaks but Gudjohnsen, who has already been booked, left his foot in and tripped the left back who was threatening a break - the result? A second yellow and Gudjohnsen is off.

Another booking, this time Lauren see yellow

Geremi whips in a great freekick which evades the Arsenal defenders as well as Melchiot and Gallas - a missed chance for Chelsea!

Chelsea need a goal for all this pressure

Bridge tears forward but loses the ball - luckily the ref blows for a foul and Bridge can get back in position

Henry turns Terry but he muscled, fairly, to the floor by Melchiot, Parker and Terry

Flag up against Lampard as the offside trap claims another

Lauren and Gilberto swap passes deep on the Chelsea left

Campbell and Clichy playing high up the pitch again, they must watch for the quick break if the attack falters

Gallas fouls Bergkamp and Arsenal manage to get some time and space in the Chelsea half

Lampard manages to get a shot off despite being hampererd by four red shirts, but it's weak and off target

Chelsea have started as they finished the first half: as much the bette side, but for all their endeavour they can't make it count - will the Gunners punish them?

Freekick to Arsenal after the fearless Parker goes in again on Vieira

Bridge looks uncomfortable after an earlier challenge

Yellow card for Mutu for a hack at Pires

Good pressure again from Chelsea with Gallas and Terry closing down quickly anything that reaches them and the midfield energetically snapping after the ball

Geremi taks a corner for Chelsea, but the Gunners clear to Bergkamp but he is caught by Bridge

Mutu is in the clear in the Arsenal penalty area with jsut Clichy to beat. The Romanian tries to get it on his left but slip and Clichy clears

Not much ball retention from Arsenal as Chelsea hussle the play

Gudjohnsen called offside from a long Makelele pass

Great play from Parker who chased down Lehmann's throw-out to deny Pires

Back underway at Stamford Bridge and Lampard surges forward

Arsenal, Wenger must get Vieira and Edu to stamp their authority in midfield where Chelsea have had the beating of them so far. If Henry can get himself into the game in the second half then Arsenal might be able to keep their noses ahead! Keep it here to find out - second half coming up!

Half time - Chelsea took the lead, been pegged back and then punished! Ranieri must instil in his men the belief that they can get back into this game, they have the skill, but do they have the belief!

The Blues have a corner and Mutu takes, Geremi connects and it flies out of play

Two minutes of added time to be played

Gilberto, who was savaged in Dublin midweek, looks uncomfortable after that block

Wonderful block by Gilberto Silva to deny Bridge a shot on target

Parker tries to lure Edu in, but the Brazilian's tackle is perfection

After a spell of pressure from Arsenal Chelsea move it forward again, but Terry's pass is over-hit

Gudjohnsen dives his way into the referee's notebook! He got the ball in the box after a neat back-heel from Mutu - and instead of attempting a shot he feigned a touch and collapsed in a heap - not what we want from a gifted striker

Terry and Bridge exchange passes at the back before the skipper sends a probing ball long for Mutu, but Toure is too strong - goal kick

A succession of throws are defended well by Arsenal, but Chelsea remain resolute

Chelsea still piling on the pressure, with Parker playing a part

Great spell from Chelsea who have a corner. It os lofted in, but cleared - good pressure from the Blues, can the convert it into goals?

Terry latches on to a ball over the top, but it wouldn't drop quickly enough and as a result his side foot shot was too weak to threatn

Geremi threads a ball into Bridge who crosses to Mutu, but Lehmann smothers bravely

Another poor ball from Henry and the Gunners hand possession back to the home side

Parker and Bridge exchange passes sideways, with available ahead of them as Arsenal have moved more bodies back to defend

Lampard's shot is charged down and an uncharacteristically quiet Henry tries to release Vieira on a charging run, but the pass is too heavy

Toure plays a 'safety first' hoof out of play as a streched Arsenal try to regroup

Makelele and Vieira are not giving an inch to one another in the middle of the park - a great duel developing there in the ball-winning position

Pressure from Chelsea - neat and tidy one-two being played in the Arsenal danger areas, but Lauren & Co. defend resolutely

Sweet passing from Chelsea, with Gudjohnsen, Lampard and Germemi combining well to feed it to Mutu - but his cross/shot is lame and lacks venom, Lehmann gathers

Parker flattens Vieira with an over-zealous tackle - Vieira might let him know he didn't appreciate it later in the match!

Another offisde call against Mutu - the Gunners are playing the offside trap very high up the pitch, if Mutu can get his timing right perhaps he can exploit the risky tactic

If anything Parker is trying too hard having been caught of position.

Can Chelsea picks themselves up again? Lampard and Parker exchange passes and try and get the Blues back into it

There have been flaws in the Arsenal performance, particularly at the back, but their passing, confidence and the exploitation of errors has been exemplary

Sullivan came off his line to try and palm the ball away - but he misses it completely and at the back post the ball ricochets off a few Chelsea bodies and drops to Edu who swept the ball home for a 2-1 lead - Sullivan hangs his head in shame - stupid boy!

Edu scores and the Gunners have the lead!

Pires works it to Lauren who crosses - the ball is cleared only as far as Edu whose strike is deflected out by Lampard for a corner

Great work by Clichy who gets the ball deep into enemy territory after a bold run

The corner comes in and Lehmann punches, poorly - but the danger is averted

Terry has caught Bergkamp in the face and the Arsenal striker has been forced of to recieve treatment - a bit of blood, but he'll be back

Great chance for Gudjohnsen! Good work by Parker allows Germei to cross and but for a Clichy challenge Gudjohnsen would have scored again. Corner ball...

High drama at the Bridge - Chelsea take the lead and Arsenal peg them back - a carbon copy of last week's Cup tie at Highbury

A Makelele mistake allowed Arsenal to break, Vieira recieved the ball at his feet and slotted the ball underneath Sullivan from a perfectly weighted Bergkamp pass!

Goal!! Vieira levels it at one all!

Plenty of pressure in the contgested middle area is giving Chelsea the edge

Henry pulls a half-volley across the face of goal from a hopeful 45-yard cross

Campbell threads a ball from the back to Bergkamp, but Gallas robs the Dutchman

Mike Riley tries to calm down a burgeoning row between Terry and Bergkamp - lets hope bookings don't spoil the game

Mutu caught offside - marginal ruling but the right one

Mutu takes and the ball lands on the roof of the net - a confident effort but perhaps a well-placed cross might have been the better option

Scrappy play on the right, Gilberto fouls Mutu and Chelsea have freekick down by the corner flag

Mutu applying pressure on Lauren down the right - the Blues are well up for the fight today

Freekick in the centre circle after an Edu foul on Makelele

Melchiot feeds the ball down the right and Gudjohnsen makes things difficult for Arsenal's left back Clichy

Another Chelsea corner, met by Gallas and its out for a goalkick

Pires takes the kick and creates opportunities for Henry and then Campbell, but its cleared

Great passing play from Arsenal finds Henry who wins a corner for the Gunners

A corner for Chelsea is cleared as the home side pile on the pressure

Gudjohnsen opens the scoring inside 30 seconds! Vieira got caught on the ball and Chelsea swept forward, Mutu met the cross with his head and Gudjohnsen stuck the loose ball away at the far post! What a start!

Goal!!!!

Clichy and Pires swap passes and feed to Viera

Today's referee? Mike Riley (I was on a plane with him once). The man from West Yorkshire blows the whistle and we're underway!

The players take the pitch. It's make or break for Chelsea's title challenge today - nothing other than a victory will suffice. But Arsenal are unbeaten in the league and beat the Blues in the FA Cup only last week! A great game is in prospect!!

And for Gunners: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Clichy, Edu, Silva, Pires, Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry. The understudies: Stack, Ljungberg, Reyes, Cygan, Kanu.

The Chelsea team for today's crunch match: Sullivan, Melchiot, Terry, Gallas, Bridge, Geremi, Parker, Lampard, Makelele, Mutu, Gudjohnsen. And on the bench: Ambrosio, Desailly, Hasselbaink, Cole, Gronkjaer.

All the action as Chelsea aim to break their alarming Gunners hoodoo. Kicking off at 12.30 GMT

Change for Arsenal - off goes Bergkamp and in his place Ljungberg

But they can't make use of it and Arsenal are back in possession

However, sloppy play by Campbell gives Chelsea a corner they didn't deserve

Chelsea are being made to pay for being a man down, with Arsenal making the advantage pay!

Gilberto tries his luck with a shot, but Sullivan saves

Vieira has rejoined the games and seems ok, but not 100%

Changes for Chelsea as Mutu leaves the game to be replaced by Hasselbaink, and Joe Cole also joins the fray for Geremi

Pires has it and feesd it to Henry - the ball is worked to Lauren, but Mutu brings a halt to proceedings with a foul

Foul on Makelele by Bergkamp in the centre of the pitch

Geremi whips in a low ball, but Lehmann gathers

Play resumes after treatment to the Arsenal skipper

Another crunching tackle stops the Arsenal artistry, and gets a yellow card for collapsing Vieira, who looks none-too comfortable

Vieira to Bergkamp, but after a string of 20 passes a full-blooded Terry tackle stops the flow

Arsenal keepning the ball finally - Gilberto plays it back and the defenders work it wide to Pires

Henry again, this time wide on the right, jinks past two and slips a ball inside to Pires

Henry picks the ball up and moves forward, but Terry makes a tackle on the edge of the box to prevent the Frenchman from shooting

A change for Chelsea: Parker, on his home debut, is brought of to applause to be repleced by Gronkjaer

So Chelsea down to 10 men after Gudjohnsen needlessly spoils his afternoon and Chelsea's chances of a result

Clichy tackles Gudjohnsen and breaks but Gudjohnsen, who has already been booked, left his foot in and tripped the left back who was threatening a break - the result? A second yellow and Gudjohnsen is off.

Another booking, this time Lauren see yellow

Geremi whips in a great freekick which evades the Arsenal defenders as well as Melchiot and Gallas - a missed chance for Chelsea!

Chelsea need a goal for all this pressure

Bridge tears forward but loses the ball - luckily the ref blows for a foul and Bridge can get back in position

Henry turns Terry but he muscled, fairly, to the floor by Melchiot, Parker and Terry

Flag up against Lampard as the offside trap claims another

Lauren and Gilberto swap passes deep on the Chelsea left

Campbell and Clichy playing high up the pitch again, they must watch for the quick break if the attack falters

Gallas fouls Bergkamp and Arsenal manage to get some time and space in the Chelsea half

Lampard manages to get a shot off despite being hampererd by four red shirts, but it's weak and off target

Chelsea have started as they finished the first half: as much the bette side, but for all their endeavour they can't make it count - will the Gunners punish them?

Freekick to Arsenal after the fearless Parker goes in again on Vieira

Bridge looks uncomfortable after an earlier challenge

Yellow card for Mutu for a hack at Pires

Good pressure again from Chelsea with Gallas and Terry closing down quickly anything that reaches them and the midfield energetically snapping after the ball

Geremi taks a corner for Chelsea, but the Gunners clear to Bergkamp but he is caught by Bridge

Mutu is in the clear in the Arsenal penalty area with jsut Clichy to beat. The Romanian tries to get it on his left but slip and Clichy clears

Not much ball retention from Arsenal as Chelsea hussle the play

Gudjohnsen called offside from a long Makelele pass

Great play from Parker who chased down Lehmann's throw-out to deny Pires

Back underway at Stamford Bridge and Lampard surges forward

Arsenal, Wenger must get Vieira and Edu to stamp their authority in midfield where Chelsea have had the beating of them so far. If Henry can get himself into the game in the second half then Arsenal might be able to keep their noses ahead! Keep it here to find out - second half coming up!

Half time - Chelsea took the lead, been pegged back and then punished! Ranieri must instil in his men the belief that they can get back into this game, they have the skill, but do they have the belief!

The Blues have a corner and Mutu takes, Geremi connects and it flies out of play

Two minutes of added time to be played

Gilberto, who was savaged in Dublin midweek, looks uncomfortable after that block

Wonderful block by Gilberto Silva to deny Bridge a shot on target

Parker tries to lure Edu in, but the Brazilian's tackle is perfection

After a spell of pressure from Arsenal Chelsea move it forward again, but Terry's pass is over-hit

Gudjohnsen dives his way into the referee's notebook! He got the ball in the box after a neat back-heel from Mutu - and instead of attempting a shot he feigned a touch and collapsed in a heap - not what we want from a gifted striker

Terry and Bridge exchange passes at the back before the skipper sends a probing ball long for Mutu, but Toure is too strong - goal kick

A succession of throws are defended well by Arsenal, but Chelsea remain resolute

Chelsea still piling on the pressure, with Parker playing a part

Great spell from Chelsea who have a corner. It os lofted in, but cleared - good pressure from the Blues, can the convert it into goals?

Terry latches on to a ball over the top, but it wouldn't drop quickly enough and as a result his side foot shot was too weak to threatn

Geremi threads a ball into Bridge who crosses to Mutu, but Lehmann smothers bravely

Another poor ball from Henry and the Gunners hand possession back to the home side

Parker and Bridge exchange passes sideways, with available ahead of them as Arsenal have moved more bodies back to defend

Lampard's shot is charged down and an uncharacteristically quiet Henry tries to release Vieira on a charging run, but the pass is too heavy

Toure plays a 'safety first' hoof out of play as a streched Arsenal try to regroup

Makelele and Vieira are not giving an inch to one another in the middle of the park - a great duel developing there in the ball-winning position

Pressure from Chelsea - neat and tidy one-two being played in the Arsenal danger areas, but Lauren & Co. defend resolutely

Sweet passing from Chelsea, with Gudjohnsen, Lampard and Germemi combining well to feed it to Mutu - but his cross/shot is lame and lacks venom, Lehmann gathers

Parker flattens Vieira with an over-zealous tackle - Vieira might let him know he didn't appreciate it later in the match!

Another offisde call against Mutu - the Gunners are playing the offside trap very high up the pitch, if Mutu can get his timing right perhaps he can exploit the risky tactic

If anything Parker is trying too hard having been caught of position.

Can Chelsea picks themselves up again? Lampard and Parker exchange passes and try and get the Blues back into it

There have been flaws in the Arsenal performance, particularly at the back, but their passing, confidence and the exploitation of errors has been exemplary

Sullivan came off his line to try and palm the ball away - but he misses it completely and at the back post the ball ricochets off a few Chelsea bodies and drops to Edu who swept the ball home for a 2-1 lead - Sullivan hangs his head in shame - stupid boy!

Edu scores and the Gunners have the lead!

Pires works it to Lauren who crosses - the ball is cleared only as far as Edu whose strike is deflected out by Lampard for a corner

Great work by Clichy who gets the ball deep into enemy territory after a bold run

The corner comes in and Lehmann punches, poorly - but the danger is averted

Terry has caught Bergkamp in the face and the Arsenal striker has been forced of to recieve treatment - a bit of blood, but he'll be back

Great chance for Gudjohnsen! Good work by Parker allows Germei to cross and but for a Clichy challenge Gudjohnsen would have scored again. Corner ball...

High drama at the Bridge - Chelsea take the lead and Arsenal peg them back - a carbon copy of last week's Cup tie at Highbury

A Makelele mistake allowed Arsenal to break, Vieira recieved the ball at his feet and slotted the ball underneath Sullivan from a perfectly weighted Bergkamp pass!

Goal!! Vieira levels it at one all!

Plenty of pressure in the contgested middle area is giving Chelsea the edge

Henry pulls a half-volley across the face of goal from a hopeful 45-yard cross

Campbell threads a ball from the back to Bergkamp, but Gallas robs the Dutchman

Mike Riley tries to calm down a burgeoning row between Terry and Bergkamp - lets hope bookings don't spoil the game

Mutu caught offside - marginal ruling but the right one

Mutu takes and the ball lands on the roof of the net - a confident effort but perhaps a well-placed cross might have been the better option

Scrappy play on the right, Gilberto fouls Mutu and Chelsea have freekick down by the corner flag

Mutu applying pressure on Lauren down the right - the Blues are well up for the fight today

Freekick in the centre circle after an Edu foul on Makelele

Melchiot feeds the ball down the right and Gudjohnsen makes things difficult for Arsenal's left back Clichy

Another Chelsea corner, met by Gallas and its out for a goalkick

Pires takes the kick and creates opportunities for Henry and then Campbell, but its cleared

Great passing play from Arsenal finds Henry who wins a corner for the Gunners

A corner for Chelsea is cleared as the home side pile on the pressure

Gudjohnsen opens the scoring inside 30 seconds! Vieira got caught on the ball and Chelsea swept forward, Mutu met the cross with his head and Gudjohnsen stuck the loose ball away at the far post! What a start!

Goal!!!!

Clichy and Pires swap passes and feed to Viera

Today's referee? Mike Riley (I was on a plane with him once). The man from West Yorkshire blows the whistle and we're underway!

The players take the pitch. It's make or break for Chelsea's title challenge today - nothing other than a victory will suffice. But Arsenal are unbeaten in the league and beat the Blues in the FA Cup only last week! A great game is in prospect!!

And for Gunners: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Clichy, Edu, Silva, Pires, Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry. The understudies: Stack, Ljungberg, Reyes, Cygan, Kanu.

The Chelsea team for today's crunch match: Sullivan, Melchiot, Terry, Gallas, Bridge, Geremi, Parker, Lampard, Makelele, Mutu, Gudjohnsen. And on the bench: Ambrosio, Desailly, Hasselbaink, Cole, Gronkjaer.

All the action as Chelsea aim to break their alarming Gunners hoodoo. Kicking off at 12.30 GMT