Carabao Cup semi-final preview: Where to watch Tottenham vs Chelsea, Liverpool vs Arsenal live

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Carabao Cup, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Arsenal

The final of the English League Cup is within touching distance and the remaining quartet will be poised to book their ticket to Wembley.

The story so far

Four Premier League clubs are vying for two spots in the final of this season's English League Cup and by Thursday, a clear picture of the sides eligible to feature will be painted. On Wednesday, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur go head-to-head in the first of the two clashes as the two London clubs renew their rivalry at the Tottenham Stadium.

Unlike Liverpool and Arsenal, the two sides have already featured in the first-league of the tie, with the Blues emerging as the deserved victors via a 2-0 scoreline. In fact, Thomas Tuchel's men had so many chances that should have seen them seal their place at Wembley but for inefficiency in front of goal.

Kai Havertz gave Chelsea the lead early on when he sprinted onto Marcos Alonso's through ball and blasted home, despite Davinson Sanchez's best efforts to clear the ball off the line. Japhet Tanganga then headed the ball against teammate Ben Davies' shoulder and saw the ball ending up in his side's net for the Blues' second goal.

The game also marked the return of striker Romelu Lukaku who received an internal suspension ahead of the draw with Liverpool for comments he made in a recent interview. However, the Belgian will hope that the upcoming clash will offer him a chance to potentially win over the love of the fans of his side after misfiring in the first leg.

For Tottenham Hotspur, the objective will be to end Chelsea's domineering run across all competitions that has seen them go on a 10-game unbeaten streak. Before last week's first league defeat to the Blues, Spurs were without a loss in all competitions since the appointment of Antonio Conte in November 2021.

At the moment, it is almost certain that the North London club may have to wait a bit longer for their first trophy since the 2008 League Cup considering the form of the opponent they face. Needless to say, an upset could ensued should they take their performance a notch further come Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Liverpool will welcome Arsenal to Anfield for the first leg of the semi-final at Anfield on Thursday before making the journey to North London for the second leg at the Emirates on January 20. The first test beckons amid a backdrop of controversy surrounding a set of false positive COVID-19 tests in the camp of the former which led to the initial postponement of the clash.

When the news originally broke, Arsenal fans were left fuming, and Jurgen Klopp's subsequent revelation that the majority of the Reds' cases were false positives has allegedly added more fuel to the fiasco. Reports from the UK have suggested that Liverpool could face an investigation, especially as the purported large number of false positives is being deemed as improbable.

On the footballing front, they will be eager to build on their 4-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup this weekend. The win was just the Reds' second for in their last five matches across all tournaments and with Arsenal gradually posing to be a force to reckon with, they will be required to put in a better shift this time around.

On the contrary, the Gunners are currently high on belief and should be motivated to avenge the 4-0 hammering they suffered at Anfield in the Premier League earlier this season. Arteta's side has so far had an easy run to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, scoring 16 goals in four wins over West Bromwich Albion, Wimbledon, Leeds United, and Sunderland, and the chance to win the EFL Cup for the first time since 1993 should pique their interest.

Who is injured or unavaiable?

Arsenal: Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes (Suspended), Thomas Partey (AFCON), Mohamed Elneny (AFCON), Granit Xhaka (Illness).

Chelsea: Thiago Silva (Illness), N'Golo Kante (Illness), Reece James (Thigh injury), Trevor Chalobah (Thigh injury), Edouardo Mendy (AFCON), Ben Chilwell (Knee injury).

Liverpool: Nathaniel Phillips (Head/Face Injury), Alisson Becker (Illness), Thiago Alcantara (Groin/Hip/Pelvic Injury), Mohamed Salah (AFCON), Sadio Mane (AFCON) Naby Keita (AFCON), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Illness), Divock Origi (Knee injury), Harvey Elliot (Ankle injury)

Tottenham Hotspur: Heung-Min Son (Muscular issue), Cristian Romero (Thigh Injury), Steven Bergwijn (Calf/Shin/Heel Injury), Eric Dier (Illness).