Arsenal v Crystal Palace: Carabao Cup Quarter Final – Live | Carabao Cup
Key events
Meanwhile in Hampshire: Southampton host Liverpool at St Mary’s in a quarter-final, kicking off at 20:00 (GMT). Scott Murray will provide updates from the …
Oliver Glasner: Asked if his team could beat Arsenal, the Austrian said he believes it is possible, but added a caveat. “They have struggled a few weeks ago but now injured players are coming back and their form is getting better and better,” he said.
“Of course,” he replied when asked if he would field a full force. “It’s the quarter-finals of a cup tournament. Every single game we call the strongest team and tomorrow it will be the same. If someone is tired, they get a break to rest.”
On Eddie Nketiah, who has scored just one goal for Palace this season: “I’m pretty sure he’ll get minutes at his old stadium,” Glasner said. “He is very ambitious and he works hard. He had a very positive influence at Brighton – we got more control of the game. He wants to score and I see that every day in training.”
Mikel Arteta: “I think it’s really helpful,” said the Arsenal manager when asked what winning the Carabao Cup would mean for his side. “It gives faith, trust and positive energy. Touching a cup generates that energy and I think it creates the right path.”
Kieran Tierney: The Scotland defender will make his first appearance for Arsenal since the Community Shield in 2023, having spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad and been sidelined this season with a bad hamstring injury he picked up during Scotland’s draw with Switzerland at the European Championships.
Tonight’s match officials
WAS: A reminder that this season’s Carabao Cup does not use video assistant referees until the semi-finals.
Caleb who? Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner hands Caleb Kporha his first senior start for the club. The 18-year-old England defender’s only previous appearance for his club came as a late substitute in his side’s defeat at the hands of Fulham in November. Congratulations to him on a milestone night in his fledgling career.
The lineups between Arsenal and Crystal Palace
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Kiwior, Partey, Tierney, Nwaneri, Jorginho, Merino, Trossard, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.
Subs: Setford, Saliba, Gabriel, Kacurri, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz.
Crystal Palace: Henderson, Chalobah, Lacroix, Guehi, Kporha, Lerma, Hughes, Mitchell, Sarr, Eze, Mateta.
Subs: Turner, Ward, Nketiah, Schlupp, Clyne, Kamada, Richards, Doucoure, Devenny.
This right in…
While we wait for the lineups in full, I can reveal that Mikel Arteta has made eight changes to the team that started against Everton at the weekend, handing Kieran Tierney his first start for the club in almost 18 months. Raheem Sterling will also get a rare starting opportunity for the Gunners.
Early team news
Arsenal are in something of a defensive crisis and with Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ricardo Calafiori all on the sidelines tonight could mark the return of the less-spectacular Kieran Tierney for his first appearance of the season since being carried out of the fight. Euro with a hamstring injury.
After being substituted on the hour mark of Arsenal’s weekend stalemate with Everton with a niggle, Declan Rice has been cleared but may be rested as a precaution. Wingers Raheem Sterling, Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri all look set to see some action tonight.
While Joel Ward and Adam Wharton are reported to be on the verge of full fitness following injury, tonight’s game could come too soon for the Crystal Palace duo, while there are also slight concerns over the availability of Eberech Eze, who sent a bang to the feet in his team’s win over Brighton.
Palace forward Eddie Nketiah and back-up goalkeeper Matt Turner could face their former club, although former Arsenal defender Rob Holding remains in exile for reasons his manager, Oliver Glasner, refuses to specify.
Carabao Cup: Arsenal v Crystal Palace
While Mikel Arteta’s focus may be on more prestigious prizes, the Carabao Cup is not a competition he can afford to take lightly now that his side have gone over four years without lifting a trophy. Tonight’s game is the first of back-to-back games against Crystal Palace and if he could only win one of them, the Spaniard would almost certainly prefer to take the three Premier League points on offer at Selhurst Park on Saturday night.
Twice winners of this competition, it seems remarkable that Arsenal last won it as far back as 1993 when they beat Sheffield Wednesday in a Wembley final most memorable for Ray Parlour’s permanent and the post-match celebrations which left their match winner. Steve Morrow with a broken arm after being unceremoniously dropped on the pitch by Tony Adams.
Crystal Palace have never gone further than the semi-finals and while they travel to the Emirates as underdogs, their recent upswing in form means they have every right to fancy their chances.
Unbeaten in five games after a rough start to the season, Palace go into this game on the back of an impressive away win against their most bitter rivals, Brighton, and with their relegation fears eased, if not completely allayed, this is a contest they should go for anything to win. Kick-off at the Emirates is at 19.30, but stay tuned for team news and build-up.