Chelsea v Arsenal: Line-ups, stats and preview

Chelsea v Arsenal preview

For all the lack of job security he is likely to face at Chelsea, new manager Liam Rosenior knows victory over Arsenal in the EFL Cup could help his ambitions of matching Gunners counterpart Mikel Arteta’s reign of more than six years at the Premier League leaders.

In his first home game in charge, Rosenior can take a step towards his first trophy as a manager with a win in the first leg of the semi-finals.

“I’d love to be here for six years and longer but I’m aware that, for that to happen, I need to win,” said Rosenior, who succeeded Enzo Maresca last week following the end of the Italian’s 18-month tenure.

“I’ve got ideas about what I want the team to look like in a year’s time, two years’ time, three years’ time. But I think I’ve got enough resources and enough tools with me now to win now.

“I’ve made that clear to the players. We’re going to give it our best shot on Wednesday.”

Arsenal made 10 changes for their FA Cup third-round tie at second-tier Portsmouth on Sunday, winning 4-1 with the help of a Gabriel Martinelli hat-trick.

“I know people who have worked with [Rosenior],” said manager Mikel Arteta. “I know people who have been close to him on his journey – especially as a coach – and they talk really highly of him.

“Hopefully, we’ll learn from [losing to Newcastle in the semi-finals] last year because it was painful – especially in the manner that the games went and the number of chances we missed – not to go through.

“Hopefully, this year we are better and hopefully more efficient. [We have] the sense that the objective is very, very close and that’s a massive motivation for everybody.”

Chelsea v Arsenal team news

Mosies Caicedo is serving a one-match ban for Chelsea. Fellow midfielders Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo remain sidelined by hamstring problems and centre-back Levi Colwill has a long-term knee injury.

Full-backs Malo Gusto and Reece James and forward Cole Palmer are injury doubts, having been left out for the 5-1 win at second-tier Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup on Saturday.

“They’re being managed and it was a good time for them to rest,” explained Rosenior. “I believe in this group and there is no reason to take risks on players’ health if you believe we can win the game.

“It means they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work, and that’s the way it’s worked out so far.”

Wideman Marc Cucurella is available following suspension. Winger Mykhailo Mudryk has not played since November 2024 after being suspended by the FA after an alleged adverse finding in a drug test.

Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie remains out, having been replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly in their starting side at Portsmouth, having come off because of a potential hamstring problem sustained during their 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool three days earlier

Fellow defender Cristhian Mosquera and winger Max Dowman have ankle injuries. Full-back Riccardo Calafiori has been sidelined with an unspecified issue and centre-back William Saliba and forward Leandro Trossard are doubts.

Winger Ethan Nwaneri made his first start for two months at Fratton Park. Defender Marli Salmon, who turned 16 in August, became the club’s youngest-ever player in the FA Cup by making his second Arsenal appearance from the bench during the second half.

Chelsea v Arsenal expected line-ups

Chelsea starting XI: Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella, Estevao, Alejandro Garnacho, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto

Arsenal starting XI: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhaes, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres

How to watch Chelsea v Arsenal: TV channel, live online stream

The match starts at 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT on Wednesday and is being shown live in the UK on ITV, STV, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Ultra.

Viewers on ITV can stream the action through the ITVX app. Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £26 a month for a six-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.

Sky Sports memberships include access to all 12 live Sky Sports channels and Sky Sports+, which offers live streams and a dedicated channel.

Fans can watch online and on the move with the SkyGO app, which is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs, gaming consoles, set-top boxes and mobile devices.

The return match takes place at the same time on Tuesday, February 3.

Chelsea v Arsenal stats

• This will be the 99th game at Stamford Bridge between sides have met 212 times in all competitions, with 84 wins for Arsenal, 66 for Chelsea and 62 draws
• This is their seventh encounter in the EFL Cup and third at the semi-final stage
• Chelsea have won four of their last six meetings with Arsenal in the competitions
• The Blues have won one of their last 13 games in all competitions against Arsenal, dating to January 2020
• The sole victory along the way came at the Emirates Stadium in August 2021, scoring through first-half goals by Romelu Lukaku and James
• They have played more games against Arsenal than against any other opponents, facing them 13 times more than they have Liverpool and 14 more than they have Manchester United
• Arsenal are unbeaten in six matches in all competitions at Stamford Bridge (W3 D3)
• They had lost their previous five visits to Chelsea, all of which were in the league between 2013 and 2017
• Arteta’s side are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions (W8)
• Including a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on November 30, Arsenal have scored in each of their last 13 away matches

Chelsea v Arsenal prediction

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