Arsenal vs Crystal Palace live updates: Carabao Cup predictions ...

Arsenal are aiming to return to winning ways when they host London rivals Crystal Palace in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup today.

Mikel Arteta’s side were held to a goalless draw by Everton last time out, while Palace beat rivals Brighton 3-1.

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Just five minutes until both team line-ups are announced for tonight.

How many players will Mikel Arteta rest? Could we see David Raya, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka given a night off?

And will Oliver Glasner push Eberechi Eze or Jean-Philippe Mateta through a potential pain barrier?

Not long at all until we find out.

Ahead of a home quarter-final against Crystal Palace today, a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals is something Arsenal's Mikel Arteta plans to take seriously. He has to.

At times, selection in the cups has been weakened to rest important players for the Premier League. That was understandable in the past couple of seasons, when Arsenal managing their resources for a title challenge. But now they are off the Premier League pace.

So, maybe it is not such a bad thing for Arsenal to make a virtue out of being a cup team for a while — at least until their league form picks up. Realistically, Arsenal need to chase everything they can, starting with Palace and the Carabao Cup...

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Arsenal, the prospect of cup success and a question of priorities

The recent outings make this one a little tricky to call.

Arsenal have been held by Everton and Fulham in the Premier League, although those sandwiched an excellent 3-0 home win against Monaco in the Champions League.

As for Crystal Palace, few things bring more cheer than a victory at Brighton. After a difficult start to the campaign, the Eagles have only lost one of their last nine games.

Arsenal are unbeaten against Palace in their last five meetings at the Emirates, however — and there is no denying the hosts should be significant favourites to make the last four of the League Cup here.

You might have erased it from your memory if you're an Arsenal fan, but this isn't the first time Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Daichi Kamada is playing at the Emirates.

The Japanese scored twice in a 2-1 away win for Eintracht Frankfurt on November 28, 2019. The German side were then managed by Adi Hutter who, in an odd twist of fate, would be replaced by current Palace manager Oliver Glasner.

It was the final match of Unai Emery's tenure at Arsenal after a seven-match winless run, hastening the introduction of... Mikel Arteta, who is coming up to five years in situ on Friday.

Arteta faces Glasner tonight. Funny how football works sometimes.

You will hear from our correspondents in the capital — that will continue throughout the action. AND we very much want to hear from you too!

We have our matchday discussion open for subscribers. Simply click on the Discuss tab at the top of this feed or even easier, you can click here.

If you’re not a subscriber, you can email us your thoughts — whether it’s a question you’ve always wanted answering, where you see tonight being won or lost, or the player you’re backing to make the difference (did someone whisper Jurrien Timber?)…

Get in touch — just send your thoughts to: [email protected]

Max Mathews and I will be keeping an eye on the inbox and we’ll pick out the best of your thoughts to add in here too.

If familiarity breeds contempt, then we could be in for a bit of fun over the coming days.

Tonight, Arsenal host Crystal Palace for a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Then exactly 70 hours after these two sides kick-off at the Emirates, the teams will do so again at Selhurst Park in the Premier League. To save you the maths, that is Saturday evening in the UK.

Fortunately, we do know that if we are level after 90 minutes tonight, we will head straight into a penalty shootout to decide who progresses. So at least we avoid extra time.

Hello and welcome again to our live coverage of this season’s Carabao Cup quarter-finals — and specifically, an intriguing all-London clash as Arsenal host Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium.

Mikel Arteta’s side has not won a trophy since the FA Cup in 2020, while Palace are one of the biggest clubs without a major honour to their name. So in short, neither side should be taking this lightly.

There is loads for you to catch-up on below and we will have plenty more for you from here until kick-off, with our reporters at the game and contributors watching on.

So don’t go anywhere. We’ve got you covered from here.

With Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta taken off after an hour against Brighton due to a swollen foot, he may not be risked tonight.

Step up... former Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, who joined Palace this summer for £25million guaranteed and a further £5m in potential add-ons after nearly a decade in north London.

Nketiah is without a Premier League goal so far for his new club, but opened his account in a 2-1 win against Championship side QPR in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Could he grab another tonight at the home of his former employers?

GO FURTHER

Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings

Opportunities to progress to the last four of a cup competition are rare for clubs like Palace, who last made the Carabao Cup semi-final in 2012. They should make the most of the chance this evening, especially against what might be a slightly weaker Arsenal line-up.

Though every position in the Premier League table is worth around £2.5million ($3.2m), there is also something to be said for momentum. One defeat in nine and victory against Brighton should give them confidence. A win over Arsenal in the cup would build on that.

Short-term vision should be the priority on this occasion. This is a chance to make a semi-final of a cup competition. It is a game they should go out to win.

Manager Oliver Glasner has said that is what they want to do. It must be done without hesitation, without concern about consequences, just as they would approach a Premier League game. Read more below.

GO FURTHER

The League Cup is a rare opportunity for Crystal Palace – they must attack it wholeheartedly

It was a joyous occasion for all Crystal Palace fans on Sunday as their team travelled to the home of fierce rivals Brighton & Hove Albion and came away with all three points and the bragging rights for good measure.

Trevoh Chalobah slammed home from a corner, Ismaila Sarr headed in after a superb cross from Tyrick Mitchell, before Senegalese forward Sarr doubled his tally in the second half, beating hapless Brighton captain Lewis Dunk easily before slotting the ball past Bart Verbruggen.

The hosts scored via a fortunate own goal late on, but in truth, they were lucky not to lose by more, with Daniel Munoz's strike ruled out harshly for a soft 'foul' on Pervis Estupinan, Eddie Nketiah missing a late one-on-one, and Verbruggen forced into several saves.

That result should give Palace confidence at the Emirates tonight.

Arsenal haven't been beaten since an unfortunate 1-0 reverse against Inter on November 6, but their run since then (five wins, three draws), while respectable, has seen them drop more points than manager Mikel Arteta would have liked.

The latest of those was a disappointing 0-0 stalemate against lowly Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Despite enjoying 77 per cent of possession, Arsenal could only muster five shots on target and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved them all.

The result leaves them third in the Premier League, four points behind second-placed Chelsea and six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand too and could be nine clear of Arteta and Co if they win that.

Palace will hope they can blunt Arsenal's attack tonight too.

GO FURTHER

Arsenal 0 Everton 0: Title hopefuls frustrated again, a need for speed, and faith in Lewis-Skelly

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has confirmed that midfielder Adam Wharton will remain out for “a few (more) weeks.”

The 20-year-old has been absent since being taken off in Palace’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Aston Villa with a groin problem he had been managing since the summer, leading him to undergo surgery.

There had been hope that he might return for Sunday’s match against rivals Brighton, but Glasner admitted he will be absent for longer than originally anticipated, while discussing Eberechi Eze and Jean-Philippe Mateta's prospects of playing today.

In his pre-match press conference, he added: “JP (Mateta) is OK and Ebs (Eze) we’ll take a final decision. It looks quite good but he got a hit on the top of his foot and it’s swollen. He could do a little bit of training today. Adam can’t train with us at the moment, it will take a few weeks.”

Chris Richards is available again after missing the Brighton win due to the birth of his child, but fellow centre-back Chadi Riad has suffered a setback in his return from a knee ligament injury and remains out.

GO FURTHER

Adam Wharton a ‘few weeks’ away from injury return, Eberechi Eze to be assessed before Arsenal tie

Welcome along, glad to have you with us.

As Luke mentions, we're covering the first (and hopefully most exciting) Carabao Cup quarter-final today, though we'll bring you key updates from the other matches, with the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle in action.

Let's get into it.

Arsenal are the betting favourites to win this season’s Carabao Cup. They are followed by Premier League leaders Liverpool with most bookmakers.

Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur come in at a similar price, followed by Manchester United. Brentford, Crystal Palace and Southampton (in that order) are seen as the outsiders.

Arsenal may be one of the most successful clubs in England but they haven’t actually enjoyed that much success when playing in the League Cup. They have won the tournament on only two occasions, in 1986-87 and 1992-93.

As ever, you can let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment in the ‘Discuss’ tab above and clickable here.

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In the United Kingdom you can watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm.

In the United States it will be shown on Paramount+.