Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Martin Odegaard will hope to captain his side to semi-final success tonight against Chelsea, but the Arsenal captain has warned his teammates of the threat Chelsea pose.
Tonight, the two London rivals do battle in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final. Chelsea are still in the tie despite losing the first leg, with Alejandro Garnacho’s brace limiting Arsenal to a 3-2 victory.
In the last 10 years, only two teams have come back from a first-leg defeat to book a place in the Carabao Cup final. But on both occasions, it was Chelsea, the latter beating Middlesbrough 6-1 in the second leg.
Now, Chelsea will be hoping to make it third-time lucky but face the incredibly tough task of beating Arsenal at The Emirates. Martin Odegaard, however, has warned his teammates that it will be a tough ask.
Martin Odegaard shares what has impressed him about Chelsea
Speaking ahead of the semi-final, Odegaard addressed Arsenal fans on the Gunners’ website and he says that Chelsea’s form of late should come as a warning to the North London side going into the game.
“The first leg was probably more open than we wanted it, and we could have won by a bigger margin. We didn’t manage to do that, and we know with the quality they have, the game is always alive,” he said.
Chelsea FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
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“So that’s a warning to us, we know it will be a tough game again here. Overall, it was a good result; you should always be satisfied to win at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are a strong team, just look at their form.”
Indeed, Rosenior’s men have won six of seven games under the former Strasbourg manager, with the last week proving to be his best of the lot. Impressive comeback wins against Napoli and then West Ham.
How many changes is Liam Rosenior likely to make tonight?
Gary Neville was among those to criticise Rosenior for the number of changes he made against West Ham, with seven made after the win over Napoli. But Rosenior corrected it, and Chelsea went on to win.
Changes are likely again tonight, but mostly because of just how poor Chelsea were in the first half against West Ham. Wesley Fofana, Joao Pedro, and Marc Cucurella all came on at half-time on Saturday.
The trio should start over Benoit Badiashile, Liam Delap and Jorrel Hato, while a decision needs to be taken on the wingers. Jamie Gittens has an injury and Neville thinks Garnacho’s confidence is “shot”.
Pedro Neto could come in, having replaced Gittens on Saturday. Cole Palmer may also start out wide with Enzo Fernandez in the 10 role and either Reece James or Andrey Santos alongside Moises Caicedo.