Chelsea vs Arsenal: EFL Cup semi final first leg line-ups

Chelsea welcome Premier League rivals Arsenal to Stamford Bridge for their first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final.

Manchester City laid down a statement of intent by beating Newcastle 2-0 at St James’ Park in the other tie on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola likely watching their potential opponents at Wembley tonight.

The Gunners are flying high under Mikel Arteta, and are still competing on all four fronts with their hunger for that elusive piece of silverware.

On the other hand, Liam Rosenior will take charge of his second game following his arrival at the club, after guiding the Blues to a 5-1 win over Charlton in the FA Cup last weekend.

The clash in West London, however, is likely going to be much more difficult for the former Strasbourg boss.

You can get all the team news for the match below, and follow live commentary as well.

Chelsea team news

There is no Reece James in the squad for Chelsea, but there are some other notable absences as well. Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, Liam Delap and Jamie Gittens are all omitted.

But there is a start for Andrey Santos, alongside the likes of Estevao, Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto.

Chelsea starting XI: Sanchez, Acheampong, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella, Enzo, Santos, Estevao, Pedro, Neto, Guiu

Chelsea substitutes: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Tosin, Hato, Essugo, Buonanotte, Garnacho, George, Mheuka

Arsenal team news

Arsenal have gone strong. Ben White comes in alongside the first choice defenders in William Saliba, Gabriel and Jurrien Timber.

There is still no start for Eberechi Eze though, he is among the substitutes with Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Noni Madueke.

Arsenal starting XI: Arrizabalaga, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres

Arsenal substitutes: Raya, Jesus, Eze, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Merino, Havertz, Lewis-Skelly

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