New Delhi: Arsenal will arrive in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg with a two-goal deficit, facing Newcastle at St James Park. The Magpies will be confident that they may finally have a shot at a trophy after a 70-year drought. The winners of the game will face either Liverpool or Tottenham who are due to play on Thursday, with the final in Wembley Stadium set to be played on March 16th.
Newcastle were on a club-record nine-game winning streak across competitions before suffering two losses from three games in the Premier League. Last weekend, they lost 2-1 against Fulham, in a game where they were leading until halftime. It was the first time in a year that the Magpies had lost consecutive home games. Eddie Howe didn’t hide his disappointment with his team’s overall performance.
The loss meant that they missed a shot at the top four in the table, sitting sixth and are now level in points with Manchester City who are in fifth place. However, in Carabao Cup they are very much in the reach of a place in the final, their second final appearance in three years in a domestic cup. The Magpies’ last silverware was lifting the FA Cup title in 1965.
Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon had handed Arsenal a trailing by two goals in the Emirates Stadium. Since their loss in the FA Cup third round to Manchester United and the loss to Newcastle EFL Cu,p the Gunners have been unbeaten winning five of their last six games across competitions. They are into the Champions League final 16 after their 2-1 win over Girona last week.
They maintained their second place in the Premier League with a 5-1 win over reigning champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. Mikel Arteta felt that they couldn’t celebrate as they were still six points behind leaders Liverpool, who still have a game in hand. In the Carabao Cup, surprisingly Arsenal have won the title only twice, with their last win coming in 1993.
Wembley awaits…#EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/E9qJqxR88j
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 5, 2025
Team News
Newcastle are going to be without the services of Harvey Barne and Jamaal Lascelles due to injuries. However, there is little chance for Callum Wilson to return to the squad after being on the sidelines for eight weeks. Nick Pope also has been used as a substitute in the last two games coming back from a knee injury. Howe now has a choice to continue with Martin Dubravka in the goalpost or their first-choice keeper.
Howe also might bring in Sven Botman for either Fabian Schar or Dan Burn and midfielder Joe Willock might make a case for starting ahead of Joelinton or Sandro Tonali with Bruno Guimaraes expected to start as well having missed the previous meeting due to facing suspension.
Arsenal are still without Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu, though Ben White is close to making a return to the squad from a knee injury. David Raya has been able to recover from a muscle injury he received during their win over Man City and will likely stay in the squad ahead of Neto.
Myles Lewis-Skylle impressed everyone with his performance at left-back and scoring his first goal for the first team. He is likely to keep his place ahead of Riccardo Calafiori. Ethan Nwaneri has scored three Carabao Cup goals and would like to stay in the starting XI ahead of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.
Predicted XI
Newcastle United: Pope; Livramento, Botman, Schar, Hall; Tonali, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
When and where to watch the EFL Cup quarterfinal between Newcastle and Arsenal in India?
Newcastle will take on Arsenal in the EFL Cup semi-final on February 6th at the St James Park Stadium at 1:30 AM IST. Fans can catch the match live streaming on the FanCode app and website in India.
Arsenal will arrive in the EFL Cup semi-final at St James Park, trailing Newcastle United by two goals. The Gunners haven’t lifted the EFL Cup since 1993 while the Magpies are on a trophy drought since 1965. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
