Fleetwood Town host Arsenal in the EFL Cup fourth round at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal reached this stage with a 4-2 win over fellow Premier League side Ipswich Town, while Matt Lawlor’s League Two Fleetwood have eliminated Chesterfield, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United without conceding a goal, their best run in the competition to date.
Arsenal go into the tie unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions, having beaten Everton 2-0 in the Premier League at the weekend to move level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table. Fleetwood, by contrast, have lost six of their last seven matches in all competitions since their third-round win and sit 18th in League Two.
Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news
Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2026
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Venue: Highbury Stadium
Referee: Michael Salisbury
Team news
Lewis McCann is suspended after picking up a second yellow card of the competition against Sheffield United, and joins long-term absentee Kane Thompson-Sommers and Andy Cannon, missing since late August, on the sidelines. Rhys Bennett returns from suspension, and captain Ched Evans, who has scored three goals in three EFL Cup appearances this season, is set to lead the line.
Bukayo Saka (quad), William Saliba (back) and Riccardo Calafiori, who was substituted at full time against Everton, are all set to miss out, while Christos Tzolis is a doubt and could be rested regardless with Liverpool to follow at the weekend. Mikel Arteta is expected to make wholesale changes, with Max Dowman, Marli Salmon and Andre Harriman-Annous among those in line to start.
Predicted lineups
Fleetwood Town possible starting XI: Lynch; Rooney, Bennett, Potter; Cirino, McLean, Neal, Helm, Andrew; Coughlan, Evans
Arsenal possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Timber, Salmon, Mosquera, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Merino, Eze; Harriman-Annous
How to watch Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
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