Arsenal v Newcastle, Tuesday 8pm
Arsenal had to share the spoils with Brighton at the Amex last weekend. Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring for the visitors but João Pedro equalised from the spot after the Brazilian was adjudged to have been fouled by William Saliba. The 1-1 draw extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run to 13 matches, but Mikel Arteta will be disappointed to have dropped two more points. They remain six behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand. No team won more points in the league in 2024 than Arsenal but the title remains elusive.
Attention now turns to their Carabao Cup semi-final meeting with Newcastle, who are desperate to win any kind of trophy. They were beaten by Manchester United in the final two years ago, having gone 70 years without a major honour. They come into this semi-final in great form, having beaten Tottenham in north London on Saturday to extend their winning run to six matches in all competitions. They don’t have a great record at the Emirates– their only win there came in November 2010 – though they will look to capitalise upon their hosts’ injury concerns.
Nwaneri was forced off at the break against Brighton and he is potentially out for a number of weeks. With Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling both absent, Gabriel Martinelli may deputise on the right flank, with Leandro Trossard starting from the left. Gabriel Jesus is expected to keep his place despite Kai Havertz’s expected availability after the German missed the meetings with Brentford and Brighton due to illness.
While Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are missing, Jurrien Timber returns from a ban and may start at right-back. Riccardo Calafiori has also played his first full 90 minutes since the loss at Bournemouth in October, which is a boost for Arteta – although the Italian could still make way for Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Eddie Howe, meanwhile, is without the suspended Fabian Schär and Bruno Guimarães for the first leg. Sven Botman made his first appearance since March in the 2-1 win at Spurs, although Howe may be reluctant to use the Dutchman from the outset given his lengthy spell on the sidelines. Lloyd Kelly could come in to partner Dan Burn at the back.
Emil Krafth, Callum Wilson, Jamaal Lascelles and Nick Pope are out, with Martin Dubravka expected to deputise in goal once more. Howe will be hoping Anthony Gordon and striker Alexander Isak, who has scored in his last seven league games, will maintain their rich vein of form to fire the visitors to a first-leg advantage on Tuesday night.
Prediction: Arsenal to win 2-1 on the night and go through
Tottenham v Liverpool, Wednesday 8pm
Tottenham were unable to make home advantage count when they took on Newcastle on Saturday, falling to a 2-1 defeat despite taking an early lead through Dominic Solanke. They are without a win in four league matches, and have only won one of their last eight home games in all competitions. That was in the League Cup when they beat Manchester United 4-3 in a chaotic contest.
Spurs are going through an injury crisis and, to make matters worse, an illness bug swept through the camp last week, which meant second-choice goalkeeper Fraser Forster had to drop out of the side. With Guglielmo Vicario still recovering from a broken ankle, Brandon Austin stepped in against Newcastle at the weekend. It was his first appearance for the club since his arrival in 2019 and he put in a solid showing. Austin celebrates his 26th birthday on Wednesday but is likely to be on the bench, with new £12.5m signing Antonin Kinsky expected to make his debut for Spurs after joining the club from Slavia Prague earlier this week. The 21-year-old keeper – the son of a Czech international stopper by the same name – has been signed as one for the future but Spurs need him now.
Rodrigo Bentancur returns in midfield after missing the Newcastle match with a ban, which is a boost as Pape Sarr and James Maddison are both suspended for the first leg. Radu Dragusin is a doubt having been taken off at the break at the weekend and, with Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all absent, Djed Spence may partner Archie Gray at the heart of the Spurs defence, with Sergio Reguilón featuring from the outset in a makeshift backline. Richarlison is close to a return, but this game comes too soon for Wilson Odobert, while Destiny Udogie is out until mid-February at the earliest owing to a hamstring injury.
It’s a very different story for Liverpool. This season could not have gone much better for Arne Slot. His team are top of the Premier League and Champions League tables, and they have precious few injuries considering the number of games they are playing. Ibrahima Konaté and Conor Bradley both returned in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United, a match Dominik Szoboszlai missed due to illness. The Hungarian could sit this one out, while defender Joe Gomez is also missing.
Slot is expected to rotate his side, though he may opt for a stronger starting XI than in the previous round, when Liverpool did enough to see off Southampton. Caoimhin Kelleher, Bradley, Wataru Endo and Darwin Núñez are all likely to come into the team. There may be a slight drop in quality, but Liverpool have won all but two of their 14 away matches this season – including their last four – a record they are expected to extend on Wednesday night. They scored six when they played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in December, so Ange Postecoglou and his team are up against it.
Prediction: Liverpool to win 4-2 on the night and progress to the final