Chelsea, just 48 hours after an exhilarating win against Manchester City in the Premier League, travel few miles up north as they face Arsenal in the 4th round of the Capital One Cup.
DATE & TIME: October 29, 2013 at 15:45 EDT; October 29, 2013 at 19:45 GMT; October 29, 2013 at 20:45 BST; October 29, 2013 at 20:45 WAT; October 29, 2013 at 21:45 CAT; October 29, 2013 at 22:45 EAT; October 30, 2013 at 01:15 IST.
VENUE: Emirates Stadium, London, United Kingdom.
TV/STREAMING NEWS: The match will be telecast live on Setanta Sports Australia in Australia, SuperSport3 Africa in African sub-continent, beIN Sport Play in Canada, ESPN + Sur in Colombia, Al Jazeera Sport HD1/HD6 in Egypt, beIN Sport 1 in France, SportDigital in Germany, Ten Action in India, Ten Action in Indian sub-continent, Canal +1/HD/30 in Spain, Al Jazeera Sport HD1/HD6 in UAE, Sky Sports 1/HD in UK and beIN Sport in USA.
The game is also available online on Chelsea TV, Sky Go in UK and beIN Sport Play in USA.
ARSENAL FC SQUAD NEWS: Mathieu Flamini is out with a groin injury. Yaya Sanogo, Abou Diaby, Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are the long term absentees for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta serves his one-match suspension for the red card on Saturday. Gedion Zelalem is also doubtful. Wenger is expected to field a young squad.
Predicted Starting XI: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermalaen, Monreal, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gnabry, Rosicky, Cazorla, Bendtner.
CHELSEA FC SQUAD NEWS: Marco van Ginkel is the only casualty. Jose Mourinho has an otherwise full squad to choose from. Tomas Kalas, having taken part in a couple of U-21 games is match-fit as well. Mourinho is expected to make a string of changes in the starting line-up as Chelsea play just 48 hours after a crucial Premier League tie against Manchester City. A couple of youths are bound to get a look-in. It should be noted Lewis Baker was previously on the bench against Swindon Town during the 3rd round tie.
Predicted Starting XI: Cech, Azpilicueta, Kalas, Luiz, Bertrand, Essien, Baker, Willian, Mata, KDB, Ba.
REFEREE: Philip Dowd.
TACTICAL OVERVIEW: Arsenal love to play the ball around & tend to drop deep when the opponent has the possession, denying them space to shoot or move the ball forward. Wenger has tried to implement a counter-attacking tactic when Arsenal tend to attack through the wings. Sherry has explained the nitty-gritties of Arsenals’s gameplay in his scouting report.
FUN TRIVIA:
- Mourinho is set to make his 200th appearance as Chelsea manager tonight.
- Chelsea have lost only four of their last 23 meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (W13, D6, L4).
- Juan Mata has 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 appearances against Arsenal in all competitions.
- Chelsea have won the last 3 League Cup ties against Arsenal, including the 2007 final.
IN A NUTSHELL: The Capital One Cup presents opportunities for Chelsea to try out some of the promising youngsters in match situations, as well as to challenge for a trophy. This competition definitely has lost some of its glory as most of the big clubs look to give their youth players a run_in with the big boys. However, the fact that the tie is a London derby against a nemesis whom we have had absorbing contests with, over the last few seasons, just takes the excitement a notch higher. Once the teams come out of the tunnel, it is gonna be all business. Bring on the League Cup!
