Tourists take pictures in at the fan zone in Baku, Azerbaijan, Tuesday May 28, 2019. English Premier League teams Arsenal and Chelsea are preparing for the Europa League Final soccer match that takes place in Baku on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/ Luca Bruno)
BAKU, Azerbaijan— Arsenal and Chelsea are gearing up to play a London derby far from home in the Europa League final.
Playing three time zones and 2,460 miles (4,000 kilometers) from London in Azerbaijan, the game offers Arsenal coach Unai Emery the chance to win a record fourth Europa League title.
It could be his Chelsea counterpart Maurizio Sarri’s last game with the team after he refused to rule himself out of the vacant Juventus post on Tuesday, though he said he would find it hard to leave the English Premier League.
N’Golo Kante has a knee problem and is not guaranteed to start for Chelsea, which is already missing injured midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Victory would hand Arsenal its first European trophy since the 1994 edition of the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup, while Chelsea is seeking a first European title since the 2013 Europa League.