Arsenal have a huge job on their hands tonight as they take on Newcastle United in the second-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
A trip to Wembley to take on either Tottenham or Liverpool is in sight for both sides with Newcastle in control of the tie as we count down to kick-off.
Mikel Arteta’s side suffered to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg meeting at the Emirates in early January but the form book makes for very different reading this week.
After a superb run over Christmas and New Year, Eddie Howe’s side have been brought back down to earth after back-to-back defeats in consecutive home games against Bournemouth and Fulham.
Arsenal dropped points against Brighton and Aston Villa in fixtures around that first leg defeat and were also dumped out of the FA Cup five days later.
But that thumping victory over Manchester City on Sunday has Mikel Arteta’s side flying again.
While Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus remain sidelined, the Arsenal squad is in reasonably good shape.
Is Newcastle vs Arsenal on TV and live stream?
TV channel: Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event
Stream: NOW TV and Sky Go app for subscribers
Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard missed the win over Wolves last week but both featured in wins over Girona and City with David Raya also shaking off a knock to return on Sunday.
Ben White meanwhile has been sidelined since undergoing minor surgery in November. The defender has been back in training with Arteta hoping to can return to the side before the end of the month.
Arsenal did not bolster their squad on transfer deadline day despite late interest in Mathys Tel and Alvaro Morata.
It means Kai Havertz remains their sole option up front with the German among those on the score sheet on Sunday.
How Arsenal could line up this week…
Arteta will surely be tempted to hand Ethan Nwaneri another start. Having bagged two goals in his last two appearances, the teenager has started every game in the competition so far this season with the exception of the first leg where he was ruled out through injury.
How Newcastle could line up this week…
Newcastle meanwhile are expected to be without midfielder Joelinton.
The Brazilian was forced off during Saturday’s defeat to Fulham and was later spotted wearing a knee brace as a precautionary measure.
Predicted Arsenal XI to face Newcastle
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Partey, Rice, Martinelli, Havertz, Nwaneri
Predicted Newcastle XI to face Arsenal
Dubravka, Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Miley, Murphy, Isak, Gordon
Where to watch Newcastle vs Arsenal? Kick-off time and TV channel
Newcastle vs Arsenal kicks off at 8pm on Wednesday 5 February.
Live coverage is available on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with a live stream available on the Sky Go app and NOW TV.
