(4-3-3) vs (4-3-2-1) Mikel Arteta vs Rosenior”, Predicted Arsenal line up vs Chelsea Tomorrow – as Mikel Arteta makes Four changes to previous XI that won Porthmouth
Fresh from emphatic away successes in their opening FA Cup ties, Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea and Arsenal collide in Wednesday’s EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues eliminated Cardiff City from the quarter-finals of the competition, while the Gunners needed the lottery of penalties to edge out Crystal Palace in the last eight.
Match preview
A scenario that few could have foreseen at the time, Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Cardiff in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup proved to be Enzo Maresca’s final win at the Blues helm, just a couple of weeks before the Italian’s catastrophic relationship collapse with the board.
Prior to his unsavoury exit, Maresca had also masterminded triumphs – albeit unconvincing triumphs – over Lincoln City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup, in which Chelsea will play their first home game of the 2025-26 tournament this week.
A sojourn to Wembley has often followed for the Blues when they have reached the final four in recent years, as they have won four of their last five semi-final ties in the EFL Cup – the one exception coming against none other than Arsenal in 2017-18.
The visit of the Gunners will mark Liam Rosenior’s first Chelsea match against a top-flight foe, after his rejigged Blues outfit thumped Charlton Athletic 5-1 in the FA Cup third round over the weekend, ending a five-match winless run in the process.
Off-field and on-field chaos has been the theme for Chelsea over the winter, as the Club World Cup winners have now scored and conceded in seven straight matches in all competitions, while also netting in each of their last 12 at Stamford Bridge.
A year on from Chelsea’s EFL Cup semi-final loss to Arsenal, Maurizio Sarri’s Blues outfit memorably lost to Manchester City in the 2018-19 final, a match best known for the infamous Kepa Arrizabalaga incident in which the Spaniard seemingly refused to be substituted.
Almost seven years later, Kepa came full circle as far as penalties are concerned, stopping Maxence Lacroix’s spot kick as Arsenal nervously overcame Crystal Palace in the quarters following a forgettable goalless draw.
Now potentially just 270 minutes away from a long-awaited League Cup crown, the third time must be the charm for Mikel Arteta’s men if they are to fulfil that dream, having lost at this stage to Liverpool in 2021-22 and Newcastle United last term.
Still fighting on four fronts, Arsenal made it eight wins from their last nine games in all tournaments on Sunday, coming from behind to crush Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli’s first Gunners hat-trick.
For all of Chelsea’s attacking exploits at home, Arsenal are now on a terrific 13-game scoring streak on the road, including one in their 1-1 Premier League stalemate with 10-man Chelsea in late November.
As uninspiring as that result was for the men in red and white, it extended their unbeaten run against the Blues to eight matches, and not since August 2018 have Arsenal fallen to defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea EFL Cup form:
Chelsea form (all competitions):
Arsenal EFL Cup form:
Arsenal form (all competitions):
Team News
Single yellow cards are wiped after the completion of the EFL Cup quarter-finals, but as Moises Caicedo collected his second of the tournament against Cardiff, the Ecuadorian will miss the visit of the Gunners through suspension.
In brighter disciplinary news, Marc Cucurella is available again after serving his one-match ban against Charlton, leaving Caicedo on the sidelines with Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping suspension), Romeo Lavia (thigh) and Levi Colwill (knee).
Ten of Chelsea’s starters against Charlton also made the first XI against Cardiff in the EFL Cup quarters, but Rosenior will surely put out his strongest Blues side possible given the calibre of opposition.
Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer were all left out of the squad at the weekend as a precautionary measure, but there are no serious fears over the trio’s fitness.
As for Arsenal, ex-Blue Kai Havertz made his long-awaited playing return from a knee injury as a substitute on Sunday, but the off-form Viktor Gyokeres is still the likeliest starter in attack.
Piero Hincapie (thigh), Riccardo Calafiori (muscle) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) are all on the touch and go list at present, but 16-year-old Max Dowman is expected to remain out on account of his ankle issue.
Arteta has placed his trust in Kepa throughout the cup competitions so far, and even though the former Chelsea man could have done better to prevent Portsmouth’s opener at the weekend, he may be trusted again given how much his manager has talked him up.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Jorgensen; Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Fernandez; Estevao, Palmer, Neto; Delap
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
We say: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
Arsenal’s draw at Chelsea several weeks ago was a case of two points lost, but the Gunners should happily accept a stalemate in Wednesday’s first leg.
