Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

Arsenal astatine Highbury is connected the docket 20 years aft the Gunners near their iconic home, arsenic the Gunners question to Fleetwood Town's stadium namesake for the 4th circular of the EFL Cup connected Tuesday evening.

Mikel Arteta's broadside bested Ipswich Town 4-2 to acceptable up a day with their League Two foes, who person already eliminated each of Chesterfield, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United without conceding successful the 2026-27 competition.

Match preview

Arsenal's bonzer and unrivalled 14 FA Cup triumphs has meant saccharine small successful the EFL Cup successful caller times; for each of the Gunners' successes successful the erstwhile knockout tournament, they stay without a League Cup honour since Paul Merson and Steve Morrow took down Sheffield Wednesday successful 1993.

Four runners-up finishes person befallen Arsenal since then, courtesy of Manchester City (twice), Chelsea and Birmingham City, but the 2025-26 metallic medallists made comparatively airy enactment of chap Premier League foes Ipswich archetypal up.

By the hr mark, Arsenal had already strolled into a 4-0 pb acknowledgment partially to a treble from Max Dowman - subsequently named the champion subordinate of the 3rd circular - earlier Ipswich made the scoreline much respectable successful the last 30.

The 4th circular has not ever been benignant to the Gunners successful caller times, though, arsenic they person fallen astatine this signifier connected 3 occasions since the 2015-16 season, to Sheffield Wednesday successful that year, Liverpool successful 2019-20 and West Ham United successful 2023-24.

However, Arteta's men person returned from the planetary interruption a antithetic beast, going unbeaten successful each of their 5 October games truthful acold and collecting their 4th triumph successful that series connected Saturday, easing past Everton 2-0 successful the Premier League.

Ezri Konsa's aboriginal opener besides snapped Arsenal's 13-game series without a set-piece extremity and took the champions level connected points with Manchester City astatine the apical of the Premier League table, frankincense allowing fans to support connected dreaming the quadruple dream.

Arsenal's astir caller EFL Cup trophy assistance came 4 years earlier Fleetwood's 3rd reformation arsenic Fleetwood Wanderers, and 19 years earlier Tuesday's hosts' archetypal foray successful the contention successful the 2012-13 campaign.

Limited to first, 2nd and third-round finishes up to the extremity of the 2025-26 season, Fleetwood person already progressed further successful the contention than ever earlier this clip around, acknowledgment to an impeccable antiaircraft record.

Matt Lawlor's men edged retired Chesterfield 1-0 archetypal up, earlier slaughtering Shrewsbury 4-0 and shocking Sheffield United 1-0 successful the 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively; a Rhys Norrington-Davies ain extremity was capable to instrumentality down the Blades.

Fleetwood's occurrence implicit Sheffield United besides extended their unbeaten commencement to the play to 9 games, but the Cods person mislaid their mode and past immoderate since then, suffering decision successful six of their past matches successful each competitions.

Lawlor oversaw a 2-1 reverse to Exeter City connected Saturday, which near Fleetwood 18th successful the League Two table, but the Fishermen person mislaid conscionable 1 of their 10 location games successful each tournaments this word up of Tuesday's titanic tussle.

Fleetwood Town EFL Cup form:

Fleetwood Town signifier (all competitions):

Arsenal EFL Cup form:

Arsenal signifier (all competitions):

Team News

Arsenal's Saturday day against Everton was not cleanable by immoderate stretch, arsenic Riccardo Calafiori headed consecutive down the passageway astatine afloat clip with an unspecified injury, albeit 1 that Arteta believes is minor.

Nevertheless, Calafiori volition surely miss the travel to Highbury alongside Bukayo Saka (quad) and William Saliba (back), portion Christos Tzolis (hamstring) is adjacent to a instrumentality but could beryllium spared for the travel to Liverpool astatine the weekend.

Limited to conscionable 19 Premier League minutes truthful acold this season, third-round leader Dowman is expected to beryllium among aggregate changes connected the visitors' end, perchance alongside Marli Salmon and Andre Harriman-Annous.

As for Fleetwood, midfielder Lewis McCann serves a one-game prohibition aft picking up his 2nd yellowish paper of the tourney against Sheffield United, leaving the 25-year-old "absolutely gutted" to miss a imaginable once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

McCann joins semipermanent wounded absentee Kane Thompson-Sommers connected the sidelines, portion erstwhile Wrexham midfielder Andy Cannon has been missing since precocious August, but antiaircraft stalwart Rhys Bennett is backmost from suspension.

After captaining Fleetwood to triumph implicit his erstwhile nine successful circular three, Ched Evans should pb the Fishermen retired against Arsenal; the 37-year-old has 3 goals from 3 EFL Cup appearances already successful 2026-27.

Fleetwood Town imaginable starting lineup:

Lynch; Rooney, Bennett, Potter; Cirino, McLean, Neal, Helm, Andrew; Coughlan, Evans

Arsenal imaginable starting lineup:

Kepa; Timber, Salmon, Mosquera, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly; Dowman, Merino, Eze; Harriman-Annous

We say: Fleetwood Town 0-4 Arsenal

Highbury has been mostly a harmless haven for Fleetwood Town this season, and the League Two outfit volition not beryllium facing a full-strength Arsenal squad by immoderate stretch.

However, Arteta's operation of second-string players and youthful prospects should inactive propel the Premier League champions into the quarter-finals with ease.

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