Arsenal vs Crystal Palace | EFL Cup | Quarter-Finals - Dec 18

A spot in the EFL Cup semi-finals is up for grabs when the two London rivals meet at the Emirates on Wednesday night in the first game of an Arsenal-Crystal Palace doubleheader.

Musventurenal

0 56

The Gunners struggled to a goalless draw with Everton, while the Eagles easily defeated M23 rivals Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 in their most recent Premier League match.

Another Premier League gameweek in which Arsenal failed to capitalize and Liverpool missed out on three points. The defensive prowess of the Reds' fierce rivals was too strong for Mikel Arteta's team to handle after they failed to capitalize on the leaders' Merseyside derby being postponed two weekends ago.

A rested Everton left the Emirates with a point after performing their game plan flawlessly—frustrate the Gunners endlessly while offering sweet little in the final third—thanks in large part to an inspired performance by Jordan Pickford in goal.

Head coach Arteta is now facing fresh criticism following yet another concerning attacking performance from his previously ruthless team, even though the lead over Liverpool in the Premier League table is still only six points. If the leaders win their next game, the gap will be nine.

But so far in the EFL Cup, the Gunners have not had any trouble scoring goals against lower-league opponents. They defeated Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in round three and defeated Preston North End 3-0 in October, with Ethan Nwaneri's incredible goal being the highlight of the match.

However, in previous EFL Cup tournaments, Arsenal has found the quarterfinals to be a bit of a nightmare stage. The hosts have lost seven of their ten previous appearances at this stage of the competition and have now gone 31 years without winning the season's first trophy.

Even though Arsenal's recent EFL Cup record is modest, a victory over Arteta's team at the Emirates on Wednesday would match their best-ever performance in the competition; their deepest League Cup runs were in 1995, 2001, and 2012.

However, in contrast to the Gunners, the Eagles had to defeat a top-tier opponent in order to advance to the quarterfinals. In round four, they stunned Unai Emery's Aston Villa 2-1 in the West Midlands after defeating Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers earlier.

Although the hosts' confidence has recently declined, Crystal Palace has the biggest spring in their step ahead of Wednesday's derby after defeating bitter rivals Brighton 3-1 in Sunday's Premier League "derby" thanks to a masterclass from Ismaila Sarr.

Although the 15th-place Eagles are far from over their troubles, their victory at Amex extended their Premier League winning streak to five games in a row. They also have an identical unbeaten run on the road across all competitions since their defeat by Nottingham Forest in October.

The quarterfinal match comes before Saturday's Premier League derby between Arsenal and Palace, where Arteta's team has won each of the previous four meetings between the two clubs. If the Gunners reserve their semi-final ticket in midweek, they could defeat the Eagles for the sixth consecutive time.

Match Details:
NAME: Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
DATE: Dec 18, 2024
TIME: 7.30pm UK
VENUE: Emirates Stadium

When is Arsenal vs Crystal Palace?

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace is scheduled for an 7.30pm UK kick-off on Wednesday, Dec 18, 2024.

How to watch?

FanCode in India, Sky GO and NOW TV in UK, Paramount+ in US & DAZN in Canada will all be airing live coverage of the event.

Live Match

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Team News

Arsenal Team News

When Arteta substituted Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard just past the hour mark on Saturday, many people were taken aback. However, the Gunners manager confirmed that the former had requested to be replaced because of a niggle, so a midweek rest is probably in order.

Goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied, knee injuries Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu will once again watch helplessly from the Arsenal treatment room, and there are still questions about the availability of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori, who were both deemed unfit to play against Everton.

After Myles Lewis-Skelly made back-to-back starts, it is definitely time to give Kieran Tierney a run-out. Additionally, fringe players like Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Jorginho, and Jakub Kiwior should all benefit from some inevitable rotation.

Crystal Palace Team News

Crystal Palace, Daniel Munoz's availability for this match is unaffected by his fifth Premier League booking of the weekend; instead, he will serve his suspension in the top flight, and Glasner may benefit from two returns.

Although Adam Wharton suffered a minor setback after surgery, Joel Ward was not included in the squad for the Brighton victory. However, neither player has been ruled out of the quarterfinal yet, which is more than can be said for Chadi Riad (fitness) and Matheus Franca (groin).

Two other former Gunners, Matt Turner and Eddie Nketiah, may be promoted to the starting lineup, but Rob Holding, who is still suspended for disciplinary reasons, will not play against his old team either.

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace Match Summary

Highlights - Arsenal vs Crystal Palace