Arsenal V Manchester City
Tuesday, 29 November – 20:00 GMT (LIVE on SKY SPORTS)
English Carling Cup, Quarter-Finals
Predictably, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he will rotate his squad for Tuesday’s Carling Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester City, who themselves are set to draft In an entirely new starting XI. Yet Roberto Mancini having a tinker doesn’t give me the same uneasy, anxious feeling.
Quite simply, depth will tell at the Emirates. Well, that’s how I see it anyway. Neither can afford to name their strongest eleven for tomorrow’s game, with the Premier League and Champions League taking precedent over a competition which still fails to garner the full respect of the country’s heavyweights.
So then, don’t expect to see too many from Arsenal team which laboured to a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham in the league on Saturday, not after three games in a week. Thus, there will definitely be no Robin Van Persie. So that’s their linchpin gone. Thomas Vermealen, Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Gervinho and Theo Walcott are others who, in all probability, may not even make the bench.
Wenger has confirmed that young Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Yossi Benayoun are certainties to start, and I suspect those two will be joined by Carl Jenkinson, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Frimpong and Andrey Arshavin, among others on the fringes of the Gunners team. It doesn’t sound convincing, does it? Not when you consider what Roberto Mancini has install for them.
Sunday’s gruelling encounter at Anfield will force Mancini’s hand in many respects, not that he will have needed much persuading to rest several of his key men. The difference being, City are capable of fielding two, possible even three teams that would give most in the Premier League a good going over.
I am expecting to see a wrath of changes from the side which earned an invaluable point away at Liverpool at the weekend, with big names such as Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero set to be replaced by, well, players of a similar calibre in Kolo Toure, Nigel De Jong, Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko. Adam Johnson will also come into contention, especially with Gareth Barry and Mario Balotelli both suspended.
Fact of the matter is, I’d fancy City’s second string – if you can really call it that – sweeping Arsenal’s feeble reserves to one side. In fact, I expect them to bulldozer their way into the semi-finals, as they did at Wolves in the previous round when a side containing Johnson, Nasri and Dzeko notched five in a 5-2 success.
Of course, there will be a few named on the Arsenal team sheet determined to stake a claim for some regular action in the first-team, and for this very reason I can foresee a few goals, but I very much expect Manchester City’s superiority to tell at the Emirates, which is never the most intimidating arenas at the best of times, let alone for a Carling Cup tie.
Recommended Bet: Manchester City to WIN @ 11/8 Ladbrokes
Side Bet: Both Teams to Score @ 8/13 Ladbrokes
