Arsenal vs Chelsea – League Cup – Preview

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Sreya

Arsenal vs Chelsea – Arsenal hosts Chelsea at the Emirates on 24th January, Wednesday in the second leg of their English League Cup semi-finals.

The first leg at the Stamford Bridge resulted in a goalless draw as has been the case in most of the recent meetings between these two clubs. Antonio Conte’s men finally scored their first goal of 2018 in their last Premier League outing against Brighton & Hove Albion but questions have been raised repeatedly about Chelsea’s ability to break down the defences of top clubs.

Arsenal have lost Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United while Theo Walcott also secured a move away to Everton, but the Gunners will be confident of their chances heading into the home game, especially as Arsene Wenger’s men have managed to outperform Antonio Conte’s sides in recent past.

Team News

Arsenal will be without the injured Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck while Henrikh Mkhitaryan is ineligible, for only the players registered before the first leg can participate.

Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas remain sidelined with knocks while Ross Barkley is unlikely to feature.

Arsenal Possible Starting Lineup: David Ospina, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Sead Kolasinac, Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka, Jack Wilshere, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette.

Chelsea Possible Starting Lineup: Thibaut Courtois, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Victor Moses, N’Golo Kante, Tiemou Bakayoko, Marcos Alonso, Willian, Eden Hazard, Michy Batshuayi.

Contributor’s Pick

According to Arsenal vs Chelsea H2H Stats, the last five matches between these two clubs in all competitions have resulted in four draws and one win for Chelsea. Both clubs secured emphatic wins in the Premier League this past weekend – while Chelsea will be eager to get an away goal, Arsenal will consider themselves favorites due to the home advantage.

It should be a closely contested affair with a goalless draw after normal time being the most likely result, and the semi-final tie is likely to be decided on extra-time and penalties.