Gary Neville has revealed his Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction (Picture: Getty) Gary Neville has revealed his prediction for the biggest game of the Premier League season so far as defending champions Arsenal face possible title challengers Chelsea. Xabi Alonso takes his high-scoring Blues to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with both teams hoping to maintain their perfect starts to the new campaign. Arsenal began their title defence with a routine 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City before beating Aston Villa 1-0 last time out thanks to Bukayo Saka’s winner. Chelsea, meanwhile, beat west London rivals Fulham 3-2 in Alonso’s first competitive game in charge before an equally thrilling 4-3 win over Brighton at the weekend. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Chelsea’s attacking flair, albeit from a small sample size, has convinced many pundits that the west Londoners are set for a much better season after finishing just 10th last term and could perhaps even challenge Arsenal for the title. Neville has backed Chelsea to finish second behind Arsenal on the evidence he has seen and says a trip to the champions will be a ‘really good test’ for Alonso’s side. The Manchester United legend and ex-England defender does expect Arsenal to edge past the dangerous Chelsea but insists the London derby will ‘show us where both teams are’. Chelsea have made a strong start to the season (Picture: Getty) Asked how Chelsea can provide a sterner test than Arsenal’s last opponents, Aston Villa, Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast: ‘I think Arsenal will realise Chelsea have better attacking players than Aston Villa so they’ll have to be alert and alive. ‘But I think Villa are the most organised team in the league except for Arsenal, I think they’re really well organised and so well drilled by Unai Emery. Chelsea aren’t as well organised as that and they aren’t as disciplined. ‘They won’t defend in the same way as Villa so I think Arsenal may actually fancy their chances going forward more against Chelsea, but they’ll also have to be alert to the fact Chelsea have some fantastic attacking players. Arsenal are hoping to retain the Premier League trophy (Picture: AP) ‘That’s what makes it really interesting. I think Arsenal will win the game but it’s a really good test for them and a really good moment to see Chelsea in the early days of Xabi Alonso. ‘They’ve been so exciting in their first two games but this is the ultimate test for them against the champions who don’t make a lot of mistakes. ‘I can’t wait for it, I think it will be a really good game. And I think Arsenal will be really looking forward to it. It will show us a lot of where Arsenal and Chelsea are because I’ve put them as first and second.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"John Terry singles out act that Alonso did during Brighton game that spells well for Chelsea","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/08\/31\/5230901859085403608\/480x270_MP4_5230901859085403608.mp4","description":"He loves to see it.","duration":"T1M","height":480,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/08\/31\/14\/110952603-0-image-a-22_1788181481167.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-08-31T14:03:31+0100","width":270} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-playe
After the USA won the inaugural U-20 Women's World Cup in 2002, Soccer America's Scott French compared forwards Lindsay Tarpley, Heather O'Reilly, Kelly Wilson to the "Triple-Edged Sword," heroes of the USA's inaugural Women's World Cup-winning team in 1991: Michelle Akers, April Heinrichs and Carin Jennings. Head coach Tracey (nee Bates) Leone, who also played on the 1991 team, became the first American to win a soccer world championship as both a player and head coach. The post SA Archives (2002): USA wins first U-20 Women’s World Cup appeared first on Soccer America.
Florian Wirtz has a chance to shine, there’s a Red Bull reunion on Tyneside and Chelsea face litmus test at ArsenalFlorian Wirtz is easing himself into his second season at Liverpool after a forgettable first. There were signs of promise against Nottingham Forest, where he set up the second equaliser and would have had a goal of his own if not for an offside in the buildup. It is clear the German needs to become more influential as a No 10 given the quality of players he has around him, especially after the expensive arrival of Bradley Barcola this week. Bruno Fernandes showed there is plenty of fun for an attacking midfielder to have against Ipswich and Wirtz can follow suit as a protagonist. Liverpool have drawn both their opening fixtures 2-2 and need something to kickstart their campaign, with a Friday night visit to promoted opposition a fine place to start. Wirtz should cause problems but, if he does not, the internal competition will be after his spot. Will UnwinIpswich v Liverpool (Friday 8pm, all times BST)Newcastle v Bournemouth (Saturday 12.30pm)Brentford v Sunderland (Saturday 3pm) Continue reading...
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