A piece of silver that has long eluded these two sides glitters in the distance Arsenal are preparing to welcome Crystal Palace for the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium. The Eagles have never reached the final of this competition – this is their first trip to the last eight since 2002/03 – and many Arsenal fans will have never seen their team lift a trophy that they last won in 1993.
The Gunners will be looking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back draws in the Premier League and know they face a difficult test from Oliver Glasner's side. While the south London table may not make for good reading, the team are back to form with just one defeat since October 27th. As they move away from the relegation zone, perhaps the time is right for a cup win.
View information
- Date: Wednesday December 18th | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Emirates Stadium – London
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Opportunities: Arsenal -225; Draw +340; Crystal Palace +650
Team news
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has typically been tight-lipped about recent events in his squad, but confirmed that Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori have not recovered from their injuries in time. That opens up the possibility for Myles Lewis-Skelly to extend his run at left-back, but on the other side, is it time for Jurrien Timber, who has featured in every game since the international break, to take a break?
There could also be questions about the availability of new dad Martin Odegaard, who was substituted in the draw against Everton, particularly with Declan Rice available. “We have managed the squad in the best possible way to ensure that everyone is fit, available, feels part of it and is ready when the team needs them,” Arteta said. “If we need to make changes, I’m sure the guys coming in will and others will need to play too because of the numbers.”
Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Nwaneri, rice, merino; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
Crystal Palace: It could be an unchanged starting XI for Glasner, who has received welcome news about the fitness of key strikers Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eberechi Eze, both missing an hour after Palace's 3-1 win at Brighton on Sunday. “JP [Mateta] “That’s fine,” the manager said. “We'll make the final decision with Eze tomorrow, but it's looking pretty good.” This means Adam Wharton will remain out for the next few weeks, while Daniel Munoz is expected to be out through suspension. Eddie Nketiah also hopes to be involved in his return to the Emirates Stadium.
“It’s the quarter-finals of a cup competition,” said Glasner about his team selection. “In every single game we put together the fitter team and it will be the same tomorrow. When someone is tired, they get a break to rest.”
Possible Palace XI: Henderson; Lacroix, Guehi, Chalobah; Clyne, Hughes, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
forecast
Arsenal have played well enough in recent games to get the results. This time victory was to come. CHOOSE: Arsenal 2, Crystal Palace 0
