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Premier League leaders Arsenal will battle Chelsea in a London rivalry on Wednesday, Jan. 14 in the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinal. The Gunners are coming off a 4-1 win over Portsmouth in the FA Cup, keeping their hopes of capturing four trophies in a single season alive. Chelsea lost to Fulham 2-1 one week ago in EPL play but had a resounding 5-1 victory over Charlton in their FA Cup game on Saturday, Jan. 10. These two sides played to a 1-1 draw on Nov. 30 despite Chelsea going down to 10 men late in the first half.

Kickoff from Stamford Bridge in London is set for 3 p.m. ET and the match will be available for fans to watch on Paramount+. Arsenal are +100 favorites (wager $100 to win $100) in the latest Chelsea vs. Arsenal odds at DraftKings Sportsbook while the hosts are +255 underdogs (wager $100 to win $255). A draw is priced at +225 and the total is set at 2.5 (Over -110, Under -115). Before making wagers on Chelsea vs. Arsenal, be sure to check out what SportsLine expert Jon Eimer is betting for this game.

Eimer finished 2023 as SportsLine's No. 1 soccer expert, posting a 248-234-12 (+25.93 units) record on SportsLine article picks. Eimer has been red-hot in 2025, posting a profit in multiple leagues, including the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and more. Anyone following his soccer betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.  

Here are Eimer's best bets and analysis for Chelsea vs. Arsenal on Wednesday.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal best bets

  • First half draw (+120): 0.5u
  • Draw (+250): 0.5u
  • 1-1 exact score (+550): 0.5u

A battle over two legs

This is an EFL Cup semifinal, which means it is incredibly important to remember that it is not one match that decides who advances. This is just the first leg. Chelsea gets to host the first leg at home and then next month, Arsenal get to host the second leg at home. The winner is determined by total goal differential over both legs. This is a complicated way of saying even if Arsenal don't win this match, they aren't out by any means. There may even be a strategy to keep this first leg close and resting players for a big return at home. With that being said, my warning to everyone in a cup fixture like this is don't bet any player props until kickoff, as we don't know what to expect from player rotation.

A cagey history at Stamford Bridge

Y'all know me. I love betting on goals any chance I can. I always want to find a way to bet on Overs and team totals. Part of growing in this space though, is understanding every game won't be some dramatic high-scoring shootout. Chelsea at home in recent matches against Arsenal have been keeping things incredibly tight and cagey. They met earlier this season at Stamford Bridge and the match was 0-0 at half and ended 1-1. Their last three matches straight against Arsenal at home have all ended in draws, with very little to separate the two sides. This will be Chelsea's first home match under new manager Liam Rosenior, who will want to find success in such a big game. I'm going to be putting my money on another cagey first leg, with both teams escaping with yet another draw.