London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal will renew hostilities when they meet in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.
Antonio Conte’s side were minutes away from recording a 2-1 victory over the Gunners in their last Premier League encounter, but Hector Bellerin’s late strike earned Arsene Wenger’s side a point in a thrilling game at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea will hope home advantage proves decisive this time around, but they will have to demonstrate considerably more attacking quality than they did when Arsenal travelled to Stamford Bridge back in September and departed with a 0-0 draw. The Blues have emerged victorious from nine of their last 10 matches in front of their own supporters, though, which will give them confidence ahead of Wednesday’s first leg.
Arsenal have not won the League Cup under Arsene Wenger, with their last triumph in the tournament coming under George Graham in 1993. The Frenchman will be keen to end that barren run this term, even if English football’s secondary cup competition is likely to rank some way down his overall list of priorities. Indeed, Arsenal have a fight on their hands to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League this season, while they will also hope to challenge for the Europa League having qualified for the knockout stage with a minimum of fuss before Christmas.
Conte may have to make do without Eden Hazard, who is carrying a slight calf injury and will be assessed before the game. Pedro Rodriguez and Willian will probably come into the team if the Belgian is unfit to start, with Conte likely to shift to a 3-4-2-1 formation; elsewhere, David Luiz is fit again following a knee problem and Ross Barkley could make his Chelsea debut.
Wenger, who is currently serving a touchline ban and therefore will not be present in the away dugout, will be unable to call upon the services of Sead Kolasinac (ankle), Laurent Koscielny (Achilles), Nacho Monreal (ankle), Olivier Giroud (hamstring) and Aaron Ramsey (hamstring), while Santi Cazorla is a long-term absentee.
There is unlikely to be much to choose between these two sides, but Chelsea’s strong home record should be enough for them to take a slender first-leg lead to the Emirates in two weeks’ time.
