The Capital One Cup has thrown up one hell of a fourth round. The standout tie in the last 16 of the League Cup sees London clubs Arsenal and Chelsea meet at the Emirates on Tuesday night.
To Win (90mins)
Arsenal 16/10
Draw 23/10
Chelsea 31/20
ARSENAL
The Premier League table-toppers Arsenal bounced back from their first loss in more than two
months – which came in the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund – with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta converted from the penalty spot and Olivier Giroud sealed the win for Arsenal in the 87th minute, thus extending the Gunners’ unbeaten away record which stretches back from March.
Arteta was later sent off and will miss the Chelsea clash, with the Emirates Stadium outfit keen to reverse a trend that has seen them fail to defeat their London rivals in their last three meetings.
There are still significant injury problems for Arsenal, with Theo Walcott (abdominal), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee) as well as Lukas Podolski (hamstring) on the sidelines, while Mathieu Flamini (groin) has also been added to that list.
Boss Arsene Wenger has traditionally used the League Cup as a chance to give his younger players a taste of first-team football, but he has promised to pick a side more than capable of winning the match.
“I will rotate against Chelsea, but play with a team that has a good chance to qualify,” Wenger said.
German winger Serge Gnabry is likely to be involved from the start for Arsenal, after impressing off the bench at Palace, while fellow youngsters Thomas Eisfeld, Ryo Miyaichi and Isaac Hayden could also feature.
Striker Nicklas Bendtner, defender Thomas Vermaelen and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski are likely to provide the experience in Wenger’s side.
Arsenal have won the competition twice, their last triumph coming back in 1993, with Wenger yet to win the League Cup with the club, having lost finals in 2007 and 2011.
Only two teams – Liverpool and Aston Villa – have won the League Cup more than Chelsea, who have lifted the trophy on four occasions.
CHELSEA
Chelsea will also enter the match in good form, with their last-gasp 2-1 win over Manchester City
on Sunday lifting them to second in the Premier League table thanks to the resurgence of Fernando Torres.
Torres scored the winner in the 90th minute, with the result extending their winning streak this month.
The Europa League champions have been in a little groove of their own lately, starting out perfect in October with five wins from five matches and outscoring opponents by a robust 16-3.
After making an error in Chelsea’s 4-1 win over Cardiff, defender David Luiz has begun the last two matches on the bench and is likely to start for the visitors, who are still without Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel due to a serious knee injury.
Mourinho is likely to make more changes to his line-up, with Juan Mata, Samuel Eto’o, John Obi Mikel, Willian, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta all in line for a return to the starting line-up.
Betting Verdict: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE 11/20
Chelsea have won the last two meetings 2-1. However, Arsenal are in great form and even with their young team will put up a fight. It should be an end to end match that could go anyway. The draw seems the most likely result but the both teams to score market is tipped as a certainty at 11/20.
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