It’s the third part of the January trilogy between Chelsea and Arsenal in this Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates. With the first leg finishing goalless, it’s perfectly set up to see who books their place in the Carabao Cup final at the end of February but there are some notable absentees on both sides.
Team News
Cesc Fabregas will not be fit enough to feature after picking up a hamstring injury in training last week while Gary Cahill is out with the same problem. Alvaro Morata is also out with a back problem after being suspended for last Saturday’s victory over Brighton but Andreas Christensen has been cleared to play after suffering a knock to the head at the Amex Stadium.
Thibaut Courtois is a doubt after missing out against Brighton with an ankle injury so Willy Caballero could continue in goal while Danny Drinkwater is also a doubt with the same problem. Ross Barkley is expected to make his debut either from the start or off the bench but Kenedy will not feature as he completes his loan move to Newcastle.
Arsenal are without new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Armenian cup-tied after featuring in Manchester United’s Carabao Cup games earlier in the season. Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud are expected to make the squad despite not being fully fit but Santi Cazorla remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
Probable Arsenal XI: Ospina; Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Bellerin, Xhaka, Wilshere, Maitland-Niles; Ozil, Iwobi, Lacazette.
Probable Chelsea XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Rudiger; Moses, Bakayoko, Kante, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Batshuayi.
Key Battles
Despite deploying a formation with four at the back in their win against Crystal Palace at the weekend, Arsene Wenger is expected to revert back to his back three in order to match up to Antonio Conte’s formation. This means whoever wins the battle out wide between the wing-backs has a very good chance of winning the match.
Chelsea’s front three of Hazard, Willian and Batshuayi combined brilliantly against Brighton last time out and will need to be at their best against a stronger side with stronger defenders.
Tiemoue Bakayoko will be tasked with looking after Mesut Ozil. The German likes to drop in between the opposition’s midfield and defence to find space so Bakayoko has to be looking around him at all time otherwise Ozil will punish the Blues.
Chelsea’s record at Arsenal
The Gunners’ 3-0 victory last season was their first win over Chelsea since 2010 at their home ground and the Blues have a very good record at the Emirates since it was opened in 2007.
The last time these two met in North London was, well, three weeks ago. Goals from Eden Hazard and Marcos Alonso helped Chelsea come from behind to lead before Hector Bellerin’s late equaliser saw the teams share the points in the Premier League.
Chelsea have a 100% record at the Emirates in the League Cup with their only previous meeting coming in 2013 when goals from Cesar Azpilicueta and Juan Mata helped the Blues progress to the next round with a 2-0 win.
After reports emerging that VAR will be used in this summer’s World Cup, Wednesday night is another chance for the English fans to see the technology in action. Hopefully it will leave a better impression than Chelsea’s last cup tie against Norwich where it became the topic of conversation. Antonio Conte will want to make sure the press are talking about his side in a cup final on Thursday morning than a referee in front of some screens.
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