By Ian King
Two varieties sides
Each groups come into this match in wealthy veins of kind. Following their 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday, Arsenal at the moment are ten video games unbeaten and with their title chase again on. Newcastle, in the meantime, made barely tougher work of beating Spurs than had been anticipated on the weekend, however have now gained their final 5 in a row within the league. Arsenal have crushed Bolton, Preston and Crystal Palace to get this far, whereas Newcastle, who entered a spherical earlier, have already crushed Nottingham Forest, Wimbledon, Chelsea and Brentford. On paper there’s not a lot between these two.
Historical past
Newcastle have gained three of their final 4 residence matches in opposition to Arsenal, however the greater difficulty comes after they’ve needed to journey south. They haven’t crushed them away since 2010, and moreover Arsenal have gained all three of their earlier conferences within the EFL Cup. It’s important to return virtually 73 years to the 1952 FA Cup closing for Newcastle’s final win in opposition to Arsenal in any cup competitors.
An opportunity to rotate?
With this being the Carabao we will in all probability count on modifications from each Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe, however that opens the door to the query of who needs it extra. Newcastle haven’t gained a significant trophy since – relying on whether or not you think about the previous of those to be ‘main’ – the 1969 Inter-Cities Festivals Cup or the 1955 FA Cup. Arsenal haven’t gained something for the reason that 2020 FA Cup. So the larger query right here might be who’ll take a larger curiosity in making an attempt to finish their dry spell on this competitors.
Group Information
Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Raheem Sterling (knee), Ben White (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are all lacking for Arsenal, whereas Kai Havertz has been getting over an sickness and is probably not obtainable, and there are doubts over Ethan Nwaneri following his early withdrawal at Brighton. Jurrien Timber returns from suspension.
Fabian Schär and Bruno Guimarães are each suspended for Newcastle, whereas Nick Pope (knee), Callum Wilson (thigh) and Jamaal Lascelles (knee) all stay injured. Lloyd Kelly, Sean Longstaff or Joe Willock may very well be drafted in. However as ever with the Carabao Cup, count on modifications from the weekend.
Prediction
So, how vital is that this match to those two groups, then? For Newcastle, this yr marks the seventieth anniversary of their final main home trophy; so way back that the competitors they’re enjoying in tonight didn’t even exist at the moment. For Arsenal, with the Champions League, the FA Cup and the Premier League nonetheless to play for, it could be a barely decrease precedence. With Newcastle’s sturdy current defensive document, it is perhaps time for them to take one thing from a visit to Arsenal for the primary time in years. With that, I’m going for a 1-1 draw, leaving all to play for at St James’ Park within the second leg (being performed 5 Feb).
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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