Arsenal and Liverpool will both be targeting a February Wembley showdown with Chelsea as they go head to head in the second leg of their delayed Carabao Cup semi-final tonight.
The tie is finely balanced after a goalless draw at Anfield last week that saw the Gunners defend brilliantly with 10 men for more than an hour following Granit Xhaka’s red card.
Arsenal have since received plenty of criticism for successfully requesting that their north London derby date with Tottenham be postponed due to depleted numbers, while Liverpool brushed aside Brentford in the Premier League thanks to goals from Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino.
Here, Standard Sport’s Simon Collings looks at where tonight’s Emirates showdown will be won and lost...
Odegaard return offers Arsenal new dimension
On a night when Arsenal need to win, it is perhaps fitting that they can call upon Martin Odegaard once again. The Norwegian, who missed the first leg, has recovered from his bout of Covid-19 and is due to start against Liverpool.
Odegaard has established himself as Arsenal’s chief playmaker and was missed at Anfield. In his absence, Alexandre Lacazette was forced to play the No10 role and the team was not as fluid as it has been recently.
The return of Odegaard will boost Arsenal’s creativity and also allow Lacazette to play higher up the pitch.
Liverpool must rekindle Jota spark
Without Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane flanking him, Diogo Jota looked a different player at Anfield last week. The Portugal international, who has been impressive this season, cut an isolated figure and didn’t have a shot on target during the 0-0 draw.
Liverpool must find a way to get him more involved for this second leg or else they risk crashing out.
The return of Curtis Jones could help matters, with the youngster offering a threat from midfield and the legs to get forward to link up with Jota. Liverpool have suffered without Mane and Salah, and Jota is a prime example of that.
White needs to be a leader again
When he was bullied at Brentford on the opening day of the season, some questioned whether Ben White could hack the rough and tumble of being a centre-back. He has always been lauded for his ability on the ball, but it was queried what he was like without it.
White dispelled those myths at Anfield last week with arguably his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. He was everywhere, winning headers, diving into tackles and being a rock at the back.
If Arsenal are to keep Liverpool out again then they will need White to deliver a similar performance.
