Chelsea and Arsenal will go head-to-head in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, as both teams look to take one step closer to the first piece of silverware of the season.
The Blues come into this game on the back of a thumping 5-1 win over Championship side Charlton in the FA Cup third round, in what was new manager Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge. Mikel Arteta’s side, on the other hand, had to come from behind against Portsmouth to eventually claim a dominant 4-1 win in their FA Cup game at the weekend.
Both sides have some injury concerns heading into the game, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the teams to line up as a result.
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea will be without influential midfielder Moises Caicedo for this game as he serves the third suspension of his season, following his yellow card in the quarter-final. Marc Cucurella will return from his own ban, though, having missed the win over Charlton.
Cole Palmer, Reece James and Malo Gusto were all rested and should return, while Brazilian Estevao is pushing for a start. Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill and Mykhailo Mudryk remain unavailable.
|
Chelsea Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Moises Caicedo |
Suspended |
17/01/2026 |
|
Cole Palmer |
Rested |
14/01/2026 |
|
Malo Gusto |
Rested |
14/01/2026 |
|
Reece James |
Rested |
14/01/2026 |
|
Romeo Lavia |
Hamstring |
17/01/2026 |
|
Levi Colwill |
Knee |
01/06/2026 |
|
Mykhailo Mudryk |
Doping Ban |
Unknown |
Rosenior Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Rosenior shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
Obviously, Moises [Caicedo] is suspended. He was marvellous in the last game. We’ve had no injury problems coming out from Charlton, which is a really, really good thing.
I’ll make a decision on Cole [Palmer], Reece [James] and Malo [Gusto] tomorrow. I’m giving them some extra time. Doing the press conference two days before is not ideal. Sorry about that, but I’ve got time to make a decision. I haven’t made a decision on the team. I will make that decision tomorrow or the morning of Wednesday.
“They’re being managed. It was a good time for them to rest in the FA Cup game. I believe in this group. There’s no reason to take risks on players’ health if you believe that you can win the game and they can come through and get extra training sessions and extra bits of work. That’s the way it’s worked out so far.”
Chelsea Predicted XI
- Chelsea Predicted XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Fofana, Cucurella; James, Santos; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; Delap.
- Chelsea Predicted Substitutes: Jorgensen (GK), Hato (DEF), Tosin (DEF), Acheampong (DEF), Essugo (MID), Garnacho (FWD), Estevao (FWD), Gittens (FWD), Joao Pedro (FWD).
Rosenior is likely to go with a much stronger team against Arsenal than he did Charlton, and that should see several first-team regulars return to the starting lineup, including Palmer and captain James.
That could see the likes of Garnacho, Gittens and Joao Pedro, who earn a combined £430,000-a-week, sat on the bench alongside Brazil wonderkid Estevao, who looks set to be competing with Palmer for a spot on the right.
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Arsenal Team News
The Gunners are dealing with some defensive issues heading into this game, and Arteta has confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie will be unavailable once again due to injury.
William Saliba is also a doubt, as is forward Leandro Trossard, while Max Dowman and Cristhian Mosquera are more long-term injury issues. Kai Havertz returned against Portsmouth and is pushing to make his first start in almost a year.
|
Arsenal Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
William Saliba |
Knock |
14/01/2026 |
|
Leandro Trossard |
Knock |
14/01/2026 |
|
Riccardo Calafiori |
Knee |
31/01/2026 |
|
Max Dowman |
Ankle |
14/02/2026 |
|
Cristhian Mosquera |
Ankle |
14/02/2026 |
|
Piero Hincapie |
Hamstring |
Unknown |
Arteta Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“Yeah, those two [Calafiori and Hincapie are] not available yet, and the other doubts that we have are Willy [Saliba] and Leo [Trossard].
“He’s [Calafiori] progressing, but we don’t know. I think it will matter for a few weeks probably, but we don’t know exactly when.
“So, very similar injury, very similar timeframes, and both [Mosquera and Dowman] of them did really well, but they’re not training yet, so they’re still a few weeks away.”
Arsenal Predicted XI
- Arsenal Predicted XI: Kepa; White, Timber, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Gyokeres.
- Arsenal Predicted Substitutes: Raya (GK), Salmon (DEF), Norgaard (MID), Merino (MID), Eze (MID), Nwaneri (MID), Madueke (FWD), Jesus (FWD), Havertz (FWD).
With the Gunners still in contention for a potential quadruple, Arteta must make full use of his squad and that should see several changes from the weekend, with the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice coming back into the side.
That should see summer signings Eberechi Eze and ex-Chelsea man Noni Madueke, who earn a combined £410,000-a-week, on the bench to provide firepower and depth.
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