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After successfully defeating Crystal Palace with 10 men, Arsenal go into the fourth round of Capital One Cup hoping to stop Chelsea from going further in the competition. The match is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal vs Chelsea is always a highly anticipated fixture as both the sides battle it out for victory. However, it will not be an easy task for Arsenal as the team face a new injury worry in Mathieu Flamini who was substituted with a groin problem in just the 8th minute of Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace. Chelsea do not have any injury crisis as such.
Arsenal havw kept just 2 clean sheets in the Premier League so far and Chelsea would be looking to take advantage of that and open the scoring first. Chelsea come into the match after a tough win against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
José Mourinho has claimed that he would be looking to field players from the Under-21 side insisting that the cup tie would be a good learning experience for the youngsters and also voicing his displeasure over the scheduling of matches. On the other hand, Arsene Wenger has also suggested that he would be in favour of rotating his squad given the tough fixtures ahead of him.
Jack Wilshere who started the Crystal Palace match from the bench is expected to start from the beginning and can be the key player for Arsenal in this match. Along with him, Tomáš Rosický is also expected to start the match from the 1st minute.
Mesut Özil looked tired in the final 10 minutes of the match against Crystal Palace and is expected to be given rest. It will be interesting to see who Arsene Wenger deploys as a striker. Nicklas Bendtner, who started in the third round against West Brom, would be hoping to be given a start against Chelsea as well.
Demba Ba who was on the verge of signing for Arsenal on loan during the recently concluded transfer window could well be starting for Chelsea as a striker. Petr ?ech might start between the poles for Chelsea as usual and Kevin de Bruyne would be looking to take up the attacking midfielder’s role.
It would be interesting to see how José Mourinho and Arsene Wenger meet up this season considering the fiery relationship they shared during the Portuguese’s earlier stint as a Chelsea manager. Overall, this is going to be a tough fixture for both the teams as Arsenal and Chelsea have done pretty well since the start of the season.
Previous Meetings
Arsenal vs Chelsea have always been an interesting competition to watch. Both the teams have supreme quality in their midfield and defence. The last five meetings between the two sides have been all square with Arsenal and Chelsea both winning twice and drawing once.
José Mourinho has never lost to Arsenal as a Chelsea manager. However, this Arsenal side is different from the one he faced during his first stint as Chelsea manager.
Team News and Tactical Preview
Arsene Wenger relies heavily on the 4-2-3-1 formation and expect him to execute the match with the same formation. The defence is expected to see their club captain Thomas Vermaelan return for the second time this season. He will be seen spearheading the Arsenal defence along with Nacho Monreal, who could start in place of Kieran Gibbs.
Carl Jenkinson might get a game and it will have to be seen whether it will be Mertesacker or Koscielny who would partner Vermaelan in the CB position.
Since Arsenal are short on strikers, Arsene Wenger would not want to risk Olivier Giroud and most probably give Nicklas Bendtner a start and this could be the weak link in this Arsenal team. With Flamini out due to injury and Arteta serving his suspension, Jack Wilshere, Tomáš Rosický, Serge Gnabry and Ryo Miyaichi will have to give their best. Arsenal faithful must be hoping to see Bendtner defy odds and guide Arsenal to victory by scoring some goals.
Chelsea, on the other hand are also expected to go for a 4-2-3-1 formation. José Mourinho has reiterated his desire to give youngsters a chance and field players from his developing team. Demba Ba or Samuel Eto’o might get to start as a striker.
The midfield most probably would comprise of Willian, Kevin De Bruyne and players from the Under-21 team. Ryan Bertrand along with Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill will be hoping to combine well and form a solid defensive partnership and David Luiz might get a game as either a CB or LB.
However, inexperience in the midfield and defensive inconsistency might batter the chances of Chelsea’s progression into the next round.
Match Officials:
Referee: Philip Dowd
Assistant referees: Peter Banks and David Bryan
Fourth official: Andre Marriner
My prediction: 2-1 in favour of Arsenal.
