Arsenal vs Chelsea in EFL Cup: TV channel, kick-off time, live stream, referee, injury and team news

Arsenal go into the second leg of their EFL Cup semifinal tie against Chelsea with a 3-2 lead from their first leg at Stamford Bridge, as they look to reach their first League Cup final since the 2017/18 season.

Goals from Ben White, Viktor Gyökeres and Martín Zubimendi give the home side an edge, even if Alejandro Garnacho's brace gives the visitors hope of overturning the deficit.

Here's everything you need to know about Tuesday's game.

How to watch:

The match will be will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event in the UK, Paramount+ in the U.S., FanCode in India and beIN Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.

Key Details:

Kick-off time: Tuesday, Feb 3 at 8:00 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET; 1.30 p.m. IST and 6:00 a.m. AEST, Wednesday).

Venue: Emirates Stadium, London.

Referee: Peter Bankes.

VAR: James Bell.

Injury and Team News:

Arsenal:

Max Dowman, M: ankle, OUT

Mikel Merino, M: foot, OUT

Bukayo Saka, F/M: discomfort, DOUBT

Chelsea:

Jamie Gittens, F, muscle, DOUBT

Romeo Lavia, M: thigh, OUT

Dário Essugo, M: muscle, OUT

Tosin Adarabioyo, D: thigh, OUT

Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT

Mykhailo Mudryk, F: suspended, OUT

.

Talking Points:

The Rosenior factor

Since taking over, Liam Rosenior has guided Chelsea to six wins out of seven games. The only loss? The first leg of this semifinal against Arsenal. That, though, came early on, in just his second match. Even then, after being thoroughly outplayed by Arsenal in the first half, he brought the tie close with some smart subs -- including that of the goalscorer Alejandro Garnacho. This has become a bit of trend for Chelsea now -- in each of their back-to-back wins over the last wins, they were sharper in the second half.

They will need to start this game much better than they did in the last leg, or even their Premier League match (against West Ham United) this past weekend, but if they can go into the second half with things as close as they are, Rosenior could well pull a trick or two out of the bag.

Can Chelsea stop Set piece FC?

Laugh at them, troll them, curse them out... it doesn't matter. Arsenal's set pieces are English football's most lethal, most inevitable weapon. Their opener in the first league was typical -- a Declan Rice inswinger that David Sanchez flapped at and a defender (Ben White, in this instance) nodded in. At the weekend against Leeds, their first two goals came via corners... and the thing is if they score first, they rarely let go control of the game.

Manchester United came to the Emirates and showed it is possible, though, becoming the first team in 83 league matches to score three goals against them, and that's a blueprint Chelsea ought to follow. Remaining stubborn and disciplined on Arsenal set pieces is easier said than done, but United did it for the most part and if Chelsea are to turn this tie around, they must do it too.

Rosenior can also pick a leaf out of his predecessor's book: in their Premier League match at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea left two wingers up top at Arsenal corners, forcing Arsenal to reduce their numbers in the opposition box. And as the result shows, it worked.

Arsenal need this win

Of course, a semifinal win in any competition is a great boost for any team; but for a team that's legitimately chasing an unprecedented quadruple, a semifinal win in the Carabao Cup could well be critical. A win here, and then in the final in mid-March would set them up brilliantly for a push to land the bigger trophies at the business end of the season come May.

A loss, though, and the whispers of doubt and fear that have followed Mikel Arteta's stint at Arsenal could build up again... that's exactly the kind of pressure they want to avoid at all costs. A trophy here would Arteta's first since that debut campaign FA Cup and would silence critics of the regime who claim that they're destined to remain nearly men. And all that starts with a win in this crunch second leg.

Are Arsenal more vulnerable than ever before this season?

Arsenal's great start to their season hinged on an almost impenetrable defence that meant if they scored at the other end, they were quite simply going to win that match. It's a bit less sure these days -- they concede two to Kairat in the Champions League and three to Man United just before that.

Sure, they kept a solid clean sheet against Leeds on Saturday, but Chelsea's attack aren't as limited as Leeds' are -- with João Pedro in some form, Cole Palmer showing signs of the player we all know he can be, Estêvão, Pedro Neto and Garnacho all chipping in with useful cameos, their attack can attack Arsenal's new found vulnerability if they click.

What do the numbers say?

This is the eighth time in the League Cup that Arsenal are playing Chelsea (third semifinal), and Chelsea hold a slight edge, winning four, drawing one (the first leg of the 2017/18 semifinal, they lost the second leg 2-1 at the Emirates).

However, across all competitions, Chelsea haven't had a good time against Arsenal recently. In 14 matches, they've beaten the Gunners only once (at the Emirates, Aug '21). Mikel Arteta has a brilliant record against the Blues, winning eight, drawing four and losing just twice.

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