Arsenal welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Emirates Stadium for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash.
The Gunners are leading the way in the Premier League off the back of an imperious defensive record, and another clean sheet on Sunday helped them to a slender victory over Brighton’s A23 rivals Crystal Palace.
The Seagulls were beaten at Manchester United on Saturday amid an up-and-down start to their 2025–26 campaign, but they’ve been absolutely electric in this competition so far, defeating Oxford United and Barnsley 6–0 to set up this tie. Arsenal, meanwhile, beat Port Vale 2–0 in the third round.
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There’s certainly no love lost between these two teams after their pair of 1–1 draws last season were laden with controversy. The Gunners felt aggrieved in both stalemates, having seen Declan Rice harshly sent off in the first meeting before Brighton were awarded a penalty in the reverse fixture for William Saliba’s soft collision with João Pedro.
The visitors also downed the hosts when they last faced off in this competition three years ago, as a Brighton side led by Roberto De Zerbi won 3–1 in north London.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash.
Arsenal vs. Brighton Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Arsenal Brighton
Arsenal 1–0 Crystal Palace - 26/10/25 Man Utd 4–2 Brighton - 25/10/25
Arsenal 4–0 Atlético Madrid - 21/10/25 Brighton 2–1 Newcastle - 18/10/25
Fulham 0–1 Arsenal - 18/10/25 Wolves 1–1 Brighton - 05/10/25
Arsenal 2–0 West Ham - 04/10/25 Chelsea 1–2 Brighton - 27/09/25
Arsenal 2–0 Olympiacos - 01/10/25 Barnsley 0–6 Brighton - 24/09/25
Country TV channel/live stream
United States Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video
United Kingdom Sky Sports+
Canada DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada, Amazon Prime Video
Mexico Disney+ Premium Mexico
Declan Rice
Declan Rice is one of several injury doubts for the hosts. / Alex Pantling/Getty Images
The Arsenal boss admitted he was “unsure” about the knocks Declan Rice and William Saliba sustained against Palace, while Riccardo Calafiori was also forced off on Sunday. Gabriel Martinelli was then seen limping down the tunnel post-match.
Arteta may not deem it necessary to risk the aforementioned names in midweek, with the Gunners’ squad deep enough to cope with such absences on Wednesday night. Cristhian Mosquera, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly could all come into the team, while Piero Hincapié may make his first start in red and white.
Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain out of action. Bukayo Saka should get a rest after battling an illness in the build-up to Sunday’s win.
Arsenal
Arteta could make wholesale changes in midweek. / FotMob
Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Brighton (4-3-3): Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapié, Lewis-Skelly, Nørgaard, Merino, Eze; Nwaneri, Gyökeres, Trossard.
Kaoru Mitoma
Hürzeler has confirmed that Kaoru Mitoma will miss Wednesday’s cup tie. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images
A foot problem sustained in the 3–1 win at Chelsea has kept Kaoru Mitoma out of Brighton’s previous three games, including Saturday’s defeat at Old Trafford. Fabian Hürzeler has confirmed the Japanese winger will not return to action on Wednesday night.
James Milner recorded an assist at the weekend, but he’s set to miss the trip to north London because of a “small muscle issue”. Brajan Grada also remains out of action, while Solly March, Jack Hinshelwood and Adam Webster are longer-term absentees.
We must expect the visitors to make a few changes from the Man Utd loss, with the likes of Jason Steele, Diego Coppola and Diego Gómez among the players who could come into the Seagulls’ XI.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton are aiming to repeat their cup victory at the Emirates from 2022. / FotMob
Brighton predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Steele; Veltman, Coppola, Dunk, De Cuyper; Ayari, Baleba; Minteh, Gómez, Watson; Welbeck.
Brighton are hoping for a repeat of 2022 on Wednesday night, but they’re facing an Arsenal that boast impressive strength in depth. Heavy rotation is unlikely to cost the Gunners here thanks to the squad they’ve built.
However, if Arteta does make changes, we must expect a competitive cup tie in north London.
Brighton were hurt in transition at the weekend and could struggle against an even more formidable pressing unit on Wednesday. Still, they typically play without inhibition under Hürzeler, and that fearlessness gives them a shot at pulling off the upset. Thus, we’re expecting a game which is separated by the finest of margins—it is, however, hard to bet against the Premier League leaders.
Prediction: Arsenal 2–1 Brighton
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