English League Cup round of 16 preview: Team news, key games, stats

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Ottobre 29, 2019 Di Ali M.

Temi: TV Schedules, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Southampton, Aston Villa, Wolves, English League Cup

This round will be dominated by two key games: Liverpool vs Arsenal and Chelsea vs Man Utd. Check out our preview for more info.

2019/20 English League Cup round of 16 fixtures - time and date

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Burton Albion vs Leicester City at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Crawley Town vs Colchester United at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Everton vs Watford at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Man City vs Southampton at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Oxford United vs Southampton at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Liverpool vs Arsenal at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Aston Villa vs Wolves at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT
Chelsea vs Man United at 15:45 ET/19:45 GMT

Team news/injuries

Aston Villa will have to do without key midfielder Jack Grealish, while Jota will also be forced to sit this one out. Meanwhile, Wolves will be without Willy Boly while Ryan Bennett is a doubt for the away side.

N'Golo Kante, Ross Barkley, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are all tipped to miss Wednesday’s game. Man United as well have several concerns, with Shaw, Dalot, Matic, and Tuanzebe being doubts. Pogba and Bailly both remain on the sidelines.

Arsenal should have a near-complete squad to choose from for their clash with Liverpool, with Reiss Nelson being their only absentee. As for Klopp’s side, they are without Clyne and Shaqiri, while question marks linger of Van Dijk, Matip, and Salah.

As for Man City, they have a few defensive worries for their game against Southampton. Fernandinho was sent off late in the victory against Aston Villa, meaning Pep will be short on defenders given that Laporte, Rodri, and Zinchenko.

Key stats

Man City have won their last five encounters with Southampton and beat them 6-1 at home when they met in the League Cup last November.

Liverpool, who will host the Gunners in the last 16, are unbeaten in their last 45 Premier League games at Anfield and boast a 12-game winning streak at home.

Chelsea boast a seven-game winning streak while Man Utd have won only once at Stamford Bridge since 2012 and that was a 2-0 victory back in February.

Aston Villa and Wolves have faced off 125 times before, with the Villans boasting a superior record with 54 wins compared to their rivals’ 39 (D32).

Key talking point – will Xhaka be in Arsenal’s squad for the Liverpool trip?

Arsenal are known for fielding their B sides in the League Cup but after Sunday’s fiasco which saw Granit Xhaka get booed and the captain respond by cupping his ears and telling the fans to “f*** off”, it will be interesting to see what happens.

Emery admitted that the Swiss midfielder was in the wrong and pundit and former legends have gone hard on him with the criticism. There have been talks of a punishment – he could be fined or even stripped of the captaincy. However, could he be in the squad for Wednesday’s trip?

Starting him would not be the greatest choice but should he be left at home, away from the firing line? Or should he be put on the bench at the very least to show some backing for the skipper? This is the choice Emery has to make.