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2026-01-14 - Chelsea vs Arsenal
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English League Cup Semi Final First Leg
Wednesday 14th January 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Chelsea
Liam Rosenior spoke with confidence and belief in his first presser as manager of Chelsea and a much changed team delivered a big win at The Valley in the FA Cup Third Round. With the Champions League resuming later this month, Rosenior will be well aware that much bigger challenges are coming up for his Chelsea team as they look to continue fighting on four fronts.
Winning the Premier League this season is not a realistic target, but Chelsea will be expecting the new manager to get them back into the Champions League. The Blues remain interested in all three Cup competitions entered last season and Liam Rosenior is managing a group that own a couple of trophies at the end of the last campaign. Wins over Lincoln City, Wolves and Cardiff City has seen Chelsea make it through to the League Cup Semi Final for the third time in five years.
Chelsea have been struggling for Premier League form and they had not won any of the previous 5 games before beating Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup Third Round. The side have won 1 of the last 4 home games in all competitions since crushing Barcelona here, although Chelsea have only lost 1 of the last 6 at Stamford Bridge.
Marc Cucurella is available after serving a domestic suspension, but Malo Gusto, Reece James and Cole Palmer are doubts.
Arsenal
As injuries have cleared up in the Arsenal squad, there is no doubting the depth of options available to manager Mikel Arteta. That was evident in the big FA Cup win at Fratton Park on Sunday as wholesale changes did not prevent Arsenal from conceding first, but ultimately winning very comfortably on the day.
Silverware is all that matters to the fans and Arsenal are amongst the favourites in the Champions League and FA Cup, while leading the Premier League and being involved in the Semi Final of the League Cup. Last season they were beaten at this stage of the competition, but Arsenal are back in the Semi Final after beating Port Vale, Brighton and Crystal Palace in the previous Rounds.
Arsenal have extended the unbeaten run to 9 games in all competitions and the 1-4 win at Portsmouth means they have won 7 of those fixtures in normal time. The Gunners have now won 4 away games in a row in all competitions since losing late on at Villa Park in early December.
Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera are expected to miss out.
Head to Head
These two London rivals faced off at Stamford Bridge at the end of November in what ended in a 1-1 draw.
Arsenal are unbeaten in 7 at Stamford Bridge, but the last 3 between them and Chelsea have all ended in draws here.
Prediction
This London derby could make for two very good ties in the League Cup, even if the matches are played around a very tough schedule.
You have to really like how Arsenal are building into this second half of the season, but Mikel Arteta is not one for too many risks and that makes them a vulnerable looking favourite.
We have yet to find out how Liam Rosenior will approach the bigger games, but he has to be aware that Chelsea need some kind of lead if they are going to win this tie.
This should make things a little clearer and Chelsea played really well against Arsenal when hosting them at the end of November. On that day the home sending off made things more challenging and Rosenior will want his players to play with some responsibility as poor discipline has been too big a factor in this campaign.
Both squads are experienced and Chelsea have had a bit more time to prepare, which could be important.
It does feel like the kind of Cup tie where Mikel Arteta would be happy to return home with a draw and that likely means Arsenal playing with a bit more caution.
This may just give Chelsea the momentum to avoid a defeat and at least keep this Semi Final in a position where there will be all to play for in the Second Leg early next month.
The Pick :
Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
